Supernatural
by Duralzero
Summary: My friends are horror fans and had read every book seen almost every media in the genre. I was never into the whole horror thing, that is, until I met Morrigan.
1. First Encounter: Chapter 1

**1**

I yawned as walked down the hallway in school that morning. I didn't get enough sleep last night. Also people were talking about some of the bizarre noises that were heard the previous night. Some of the things were pretty logical; others were very farfetched but not too far from the truth. Only I know what truly happened. It was like a bad dream and the more I thought about it, the more real it became. I couldn't wait to tell my friends, Jun and Rikku about it. I entered the classroom just as the class bell rang. None of my classmates seemed fazed by the bell and continued on with their discussions. I took my seat next to Jun and she looked at me and smirked.

"Rough morning?"

"Rough night," I replied.

"Alright settle down," our teacher, Mr. Taguya said as he entered the classroom. "Today we have a new student who'll be joining us for the year."

_A new face huh? _I mused.

Mr. Taguya turned towards the door and smiled.

"You can come in now,"

As told, a young girl walked into the classroom, stood next to the teacher, and turned to face the class. She had long light green hair, which in my opinion was an unusual color, but made her look gorgeous. I have ghastly white hair which made my classmate, Chad Kazuki call me a ghost when I accidentally spooked him.

"My name is Morrigan," she said. "Morrigan Aensland."

The sound of her voice sent chills down my spine. She wore a pretty friendly smile. I've seen that smile somewhere before. As I thought about it, an image flashed in my head and it dawned on me. That that was the girl from last night. My heart skipped a beat when her emerald colored eyes shifted onto me. Mr. Taguya said something else but I wasn't listening. Why was she staring at me? Could she smell my fear? Jun gently nudged me, shaking me from my stupor.

"Daisuke are you okay?" she asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I give the new girl a final glance before turning to Jun.

"That's the girl from last night," I muttered.

Jun gave me a quizzical stare.

"Huh?"

"I'll tell you and Rikku all about it at lunch," I whispered.

Jun gave me a worried glance before returning her attention towards the front of the room. I guess she noticed my hand trembling.

I bet you're wondering what exactly did happen last night that made me so apprehensive this morning.

* * *

It all started when Rikku had to stay late after practice. Since there was something he had to do in the main office he asked me to hang around and help him put the equipment away. Being the friendly person that I usually am, I didn't object. Explaining to my dad why I'm so late getting home wouldn't have been difficult. Rikku locked the closet door after we made sure that all of the equipment was stored inside and then started for the office. I told him I'd meet him there after I changed my clothes. I decided to change back into my black school uniform since I hadn't brought anything else and headed down to the office.

"I appreciate this," Rikku said to me as he stepped out.

"No problem," I said passively. "Well, since that's done and over with, I'll be headin' home now."

"That's a good idea since it'll be dark by the time you even make it halfway home," he said. "Try not to get bitten by any zombies or vampires on the way."

I chuckled at his joke as I started out the door.

Rikku was the big fan of horror. He had read every book and seen every movie that had come out for the genre. Jun had even read a few books and could relate to him from time to time. I myself was never into it and sometimes felt alienated whenever the topic came up. Even when the three of us went to see a horror movie, it never really caught my interest. That was true, until what happened later that night.

As I walked down the streets I looked up towards the sky. It turns out that Rikku was right about how long it would take for me to get home. Night blanketed the sky and the streetlights illuminated the street. The route I usually take home seemed a little creepier at night but it didn't bother me. Actually what _was _bothering me was the bizarre burning sensation I was feeling on the back of my head. I looked upward at the roof of a tall building nearby.

_Was someone there... Watching me?_

I stared for a moment wondering whether someone was really there or if I just imagined it. Either way, the thought creep me out to no end.

"Excuse me young man, perhaps you could assist me?" an old guy said from behind me.

The voice startled me, though I didn't show it visibly. I turned to him and watched as he approached from an alley. It seemed a little strange on how the man shambled towards me rather than actually walk.

_Rikku may be right about the zombie thing _I mentally joked.

The man stepped under streetlight, revealing his appearance. He was a bald, old, had no facial hair whatsoever, and It weirded me out to see that his eyes were completely white and lifeless. The rags that he wore appeared to be that of a tuxedo. I was about to assume that he was just a blind, old homeless guy trying to beg for change so that he can buy some liquor, but then I noticed the red stains on his face. It dawned on me that it was blood when I noticed the bizarre looking cut in his neck.

"I could assist you to the hospital," I said while staring at his wound.

"Oh, that's kind of you, but that isn't necessary," the man said. "I do however need something

else."

He seemed pretty calm about having a weird looking gash in his neck. It was like it didn't bother him at all. Something didn't seem right and I grew suspicious.

"Like what?"

"Like you," he simply replied.

I began backing away as he hunched over. I stared appalled as green slime began oozing from his ears, eyes, nose, mouth, and wound. The slime molded together to form some kind of giant blob creature with tentacles. I didn't stick around to see what else it gained in its new form. As I dashed down the empty street, I looked back only to see the creature _moving _the only way that it could after me. I rounded the corner, down the street that went straight into the park and hoped that I would lose it in there. Once in the park, I hopped over the railing on the side of the road, slid down the grassy hill towards the river and looked back towards the road only to see that the monster had vanished.

_Did I lose it?_

I spun around to a bizarre roaring noise behind me and saw the blob-thing to my dismay. I turned to run, but something caught my leg, causing me to face plant onto the concrete riverbank. I began to lift myself from the ground but suddenly I was dragged across the ground. I look back to see that the creature had grabbed me with one of its tentacles and was now pulling me towards it. I tried kicking it off my leg but to no avail. My efforts to grasp the ground only resulted in me scraping my hands. Just when all seemed lost, a strange ball of light shot from the darkness and struck the monster causing a horrifying shrill. The blob loosened its grip on me and I crawled away without thinking twice about it. Crawling a few feet away, I sat up and faced it with no idea as to what just happened. I looked toward the road where the ball of light had come from and spotted what appeared to be a young girl sitting on the railing. I couldn't really tell though since only the moon lit the area.

"I've been waiting for something to happen for a while, and now I'm bored," the girl said. "Do you think you can amuse me?"

The blob answered by shooting green liquid at her. The girl vanished in a blink of an eye and the green substance landed on the railing. I watched as the fluid began eating away at the metal. The girl reappeared in front of the monster, separating me from it, causing the creature to move towards her. Calmly, she held out her fist and another ball of light, bigger than the first, launched towards the monster. When it connected, the monster exploded - splattering its green goop everywhere. Miraculously, none of it landed on either of us.

"I guess it couldn't amuse me after all," the girl said.

As I got back onto my feet, I eyed the girl suspiciously. At her waist hung a pair of bat like wings along with two smaller versions jutting from her head. If it weren't for pride and the fact that I was a little paranoid, I would've thanked her for saving me. However, something told me that she wasn't really concerned for my wellbeing. She then looked back at me with glowing violet eyes. Before I realized it, she was pressed closely behind me with her arms around my neck and her chin perched on my shoulder.

"Boo," she whispered into my ear.

I froze, not knowing what to expect next. I was surprise to hear her giggle.

"Did I really frighten you?" she asked. "You're trembling."

I didn't answer. To be honest, I didn't know whether or not I was afraid. Who was this girl? What did she want from me?

"What's the matter? Nothing to say?"

The tone in her voice told me that she was getting irritated. I watched in terror as a large blade rose to my face.

"Perhaps this will get a noise from you,"

Suddenly the green goop began to move in front of us reforming the monster that was thought to be dead.

"Oh? You're still alive?" the girl said, releasing me. She sounded much happier when she said that. She stepped in front of the blob monster. "Alright I'll give you one more chance."

This time, I decided not to stick around. I ran away from them both without even daring to look back.

* * *

I didn't know what became of the girl who I now know as Morrigan Aensland until she showed up to my class. I was practically horrified at what Mr. Taguya did next.

"Inoa, please raise your hand,"

Without really thinking about it, I did so with no questions asked. I watched as a grin stretched across Mr. Taguya's face and he looked at Morrigan.

"That's him over there," Taguya said, pointing at me. "You'll be sitting next to him."

_Bastard!_

"Oh, okay," Morrigan said innocently.

Seconds later, Morrigan occupied the empty desk to my left. She sent a friendly smile my direction and then looked down into her open notebook. I look towards Jun as she sends me another one of her smirks. That's when I noticed some of the glares from the male population of my class and sighed.

_This is going to be a long day._


	2. First Encounter: Chapter 2

**sorry for the delay. I've been busy with school work, mainly with this gotdamn chemistry test I have to take.**

**2**

I began to think that Morrigan was following me since she was in my first four classes. I rejoiced inwardly when we finally separated in fifth period. It was getting pretty weird. She talked to everyone else (because I've been avoiding her) as if she was an ordinary high school girl just trying to make friends on her first day. Obviously for her, making friends wasn't difficult since she had the attention of most the guys and the girls didn't seem to reject her. It took only four periods before she had a fan club in her honor and was dubbed popular. I kept trying to ignore her and get through the day, but there were times when other girls from my classes would tell me that Morrigan was looking for me. I knew I would end up facing her sooner or later. When lunch time came around, I quickly went to the spot where my friends and I usually ate at. When they finally they decided to show up, Rikku grinned at me.

"I heard you were with Morrigan last night," he said.

I knew exactly what he meant and narrowed my eyes at him. Jun bonked him on the head with a rolled up magazine.

"Get your head out of the gutter," she said. "There's certainly a logical explanation, right Daisuke?"

I nodded and told them the story of exactly what happened to me last night. When I finished, I stared at the blank looks on their faces. After a moment or two, they burst out with laughter.

"That was a pretty good story, Daisuke" said Jun.

"You should really put that in a book or something," Rikku said, still laughing.

I glared at him.

Suddenly, I noticed everyone's attention was directed towards the entrance of the café area. I followed their eyes and saw Morrigan standing in the doorway, staring blankly into the café. Soon enough, I began hearing "Morrigan sit here!" or "Morrigan sit over here!"

"Here we go again," I muttered before biting into my pastry.

Little did I know, Morrigan had approached our table.

"I think I'll sit here," she said as she pulled the chair next to me and plopped into it.

I began choking on the pastry and tried swallow, hammering my chest with my fist before I turned blue. Thankfully it went down.

"Hi Morrigan," Jun said, smiling.

I could tell by the sound of her voice that she was hoping Morrigan would sit at our table. I could also tell by the grin on Rikku's face that he was hoping the same.

"Hi Jun, hi Rikku," Morrigan replied, returning the smile. She looked at me. "Hello Daisuke."

"Uh…yeah…h-hi," I said softly.

My friends conversed with her for a while and I would occasionally say one or two words but apparently, it was too unusual for me to say so little.

Morrigan didn't seem to notice nor did she seem to care, but my friends did.

"What's wrong with you Daisuke," Jun asked.

"Yeah, you act as if you're afraid of Morrigan or something," Rikku added.

I twitched an eyebrow in irritation.

_F.Y.I. I am afraid of her!_

."Nothings wrong," I sighed and stood up from my seat. "I'll see you guys later."

* * *

I was pretty glad to be out of there. Another minute sitting next to the elegant psycho, and I probably would've lost it. Sure she saved my life last night but she still held a blade to my face and implied that she was going to torture me. I was pretty uncomfortable…scared to death of her ever since then, but now she seemed nice and normal. I still wouldn't let myself forget that she threatened to kill me right before she saw that the blob monster was still alive. I thought that I could get along with her if she stayed that way, but still should be wary. Running into her again in Biology class didn't surprise me. Neither did the strange coincidence of sitting next to her…again. 

"Jun told me about how you're usually quite the conversationalist," she said.

"I don't usually speak unless spoken to," I replied dryly.

"Wow that was an entire sentence that time," she gave me the puppy eyes look with her index finger on her lips. "What's the matter Daisuke? You don't like me?"

Knowing her to be the psychotic girl that she was, I didn't fall for the look. Just as I was about to say something, the Biologist teacher, Mr. Redstone entered the classroom.

"Good afternoon class," he said, quickly walking from one side of the room to the other. "I assume that you've eaten well. Now that we're here, let's get started."

Mr. Redstone was quite enthusiastic when it came to science. He seemed to have the psyche of a mad scientist and a very kind man which kind of made the class interesting – not that being uninterested was really an option. If he were to catch you sleeping during his lecture, he would pull out a jar of a questionable substance and decorate you with it. Thanks to his very unusual teaching tactic of forcing the knowledge down our throats, Kings High school had the highest academics in science for the whole district. He pulled out a jar of a mysterious green liquid to remind us what would happen before getting to his lecture. That's when I noticed Morrigan staring at the jar. The serious look on her face seemed foreign to me.

"What's wrong?"

She looked at me and smiled again.

"Oh its nothing," she said, waving me off. "I'm just imagining things."

_What kind of things?_

I eyed her suspiciously then stared at the jar. I had a bad feeling about that, but that wasn't enough to keep me from paying attention to the lecture.

* * *

When the day finally ended, everyone else got out of the building as fast as they could. I retired to the roof of the school and stared through the fence. I lost track of Morrigan around sixth or seventh period. I thought about her behavior from earlier today and compared it to last night. She seemed like a normal high school girl, but it made me realize something. What was Morrigan doing here? What did she want? 

Suddenly, I feel something tickling my ear. Alerted as I was, I whirled around and flattened my back against a fence and saw Morrigan standing there with her arms behind her back.

"My, aren't we jumpy," she said playfully.

I dropped my defenses (only a little) and gave her a stern look, to which she returned with a blank one.

"Morrigan…what are you doing here?" I asked her.

She looked at me perplexed.

"I'm not quite sure I follow," she replied.

The innocent act had been subconsciously irritating me. It had been building up for some time and was finally released.

"Don't play dumb with me!" I snapped. "Both you and I know that you're not human! Just what are you after?"

Realizing that I yelled, I looked away.

"Sorry," I said, still angry.

Morrigan closed her eyes.

"Do you really wish to know what I am here for?" she asked, unfazed by my sudden outburst.

I looked at her and saw her eyes had changed into an eerie violet color when she opened them.

"What I am here for…is you." She smiled devilishly

That line surprised me.

"W-what do you mean?"

Just before she was about to answer my question, someone opened the roof exit. I hadn't realized how close Morrigan was until she backed away from me. We both eyed the intruder.

"Ah, I found you," he said.

"Mr. Redstone?" I said. "What are you doing here?"

That's when I noticed the crimson liquid seeping through his shirt and the lack of an iris in his eyes. I've seen this before.

"When you ran away, I was sad," Mr. Redstone said. "But now I am happy that I've found you again."

"What're you…" I paused, realizing what was going on. "Oh no."

As on cue, Mr. Redstone hunched over and let the green liquid pour out of his body before falling limply to the ground. The liquid formed the giant blob monster. I thought of escaping again, but I saw that wasn't an option since the monster was blocking the only exit. Suddenly, a ball of light sped towards the blob, but it curved its body around the projectile, dodging it completely. I looked towards Morrigan to see that her appearance had changed completely. She wore an unusual black leather corset that was lined at the top with a feathery trim. Under this, she wore violet tights with a bat design engraved from the waist down that slid into two black knee high boots, her arms covered from just below the elbow down in a tight material of the same violet color that tapered off at the wrists and hooked around the middle finger of each hand. A pair of black bat-like wings extended from her back down around her waist. Smaller versions of these wings stuck out from her head.

She chuckled.

"Strange," she said with her hand held out. "I've never killed the same being three times before."

The creature responded by shooting a series of tentacles at her. Morrigan jumped to avoid the first tentacle and flew around in the sky to avoid the others. The blob monster shot green fluid at her that I presumed was acid, and she shielded herself with one of her wings. I noticed too late that the tentacles were coming for me and was swept off my feet with other tentacles wrapping around my legs. I gritted my teeth in the pain of being constricted as the tentacles proceeded to wrap around my upper body. Breathing was getting harder and harder and it seemed like I wasn't going to be as lucky as I was last night.

"SOUL FIST!"

Before I knew it, I the wind was knocked out of me when my body slammed onto the rooftop floor. I groaned in pain once realizing that the tentacles were no longer around me. It was a little difficult to breathe at first but then grew easier. I got up on all fours and saw Morrigan standing in between me and the monster.

"Morrigan?" I said softly.

She glanced back at me then towards the monster and charged at the blob, then took to the sky to dodge its tentacles. Why did she save me? I looked at the blob monster again and was a little shocked that I hadn't noticed it before, but there was a large violet sphere in the center of it. I also noticed that the creature kind of resembled an amoeba.

_And that violet sphere must be its nucleus _I guessed. "Morrigan, aim for the nucleus!"

She glanced at me quizzically and dodged another tentacle as it tried to swat her from the sky.

"Aim for the violet spot!" I yelled.

When she didn't look at me again, I prayed that she heard me and understood what I was talking about. Suddenly, she began speeding towards the monster. I didn't know what she was planning, but at the moment I thought she had lost it. Then she positioned her feet downward and I watched in amazement as the wings on her back disperse into bats and surrounded her feet, forming some kind of power drill. At the speed she was going, she shot right through the blob and through the roof of the building. She had nailed the nucleus dead on. The blob monster soon began flailing, waving its tentacles in every direction. I was struck by one of them and was sent flying right into the fence before hitting the floor then everything went black. I don't know what happened after that.

* * *

When I came to, I felt that I was sitting down against a wall. When I opened my eyes, I was awed by a magnificent view of my hometown. That was before I realized that I was sitting on the edge of a building. 

"Gah!"

I tried grabbing onto the wall behind me, but then I hear laughter and looked to see Morrigan sitting next me. She kept her appearance from when she fought the blob monster.

"You scare far too easily Daisuke," she said, giggling.

"Well, crazy crap has been happening to me ever since I met you," I replied, now getting use to the height. There was plenty of room to sit on. Unless I was pushed off, I had nothing to worry about. But then something crossed my mind "Is Mr. Redstone all right?"

"Nope, he's dead," Morrigan replied bluntly, as she continued staring at towards the town.

I sighed at how frank she was.

"Looks like a woman, and yet there's not a sensitive bone in her body," I muttered.

However, now that she had said that, I was kind of glad that she had taken me away from the school. Trying to explain Mr. Redstone's body would've been ugly. I stared at Morrigan. She was pretty hard to figure out. First she wanted to kill me, but then she saves my life…again. I'm pretty sure that the first time was pure chance, but the second time? Why'd she do it?

"Morrigan, what do you want with me?" I asked.

She didn't answer. At first I thought she was ignoring me.

"I wanted your soul," she soon said.

I looked at her incredulously as she continued.

"There was something interesting about it and I had planned to take it on our first encounter. During the battle when you ran away, I lost track of you."

"So if you were planning on taking my soul…then why'd you save me back there at the school." I asked. "You could've taken my soul anytime you wanted even if I had died right?"

Morrigan smirked.

"Yes that's true," she replied. "That was what I had originally planned. But when I saw you this morning, something about it changed."

"Changed? How did it change?"

"I don't know. It just seemed different from the other humans. You're an odd one, I'll give you that."

I looked away from her, peering at the sunset and thought about what she said. My soul is different from other humans…and she wants it.

"So what now?" I asked. "Are you gonna take my soul?"

"Hmm," was her reply and then "I'll leave it be."

"Huh, but why?"

She giggled.

"I said it earlier," she replied, looking towards me. "You're not like the other humans. And since your soul seems to always be changing, I decided to stick around, just to see what happens."

I stared at her in disbelief then looked away again. Why is she so hard to figure out?

"That's the sun I've heard so much about."

I was confused from the change of topic.

"It's pretty," she said, gazing at the sunset.

I stared at her at first then towards the sunset once more.

"Yeah…it sure is."

From then on, I knew that our relationship had changed.


	3. Wolfman: Chapter 1

**3**

The sun shone brightly the next morning and I tightened my eyes shut. Grasping my pillow, I realized that I didn't remember getting home last night. There was something else strange about that morning too. There was soft and steady breathing in front of me. I opened my eyes and was horrified to find a sweet and innocent looking Morrigan fast asleep… in the same bed as me – Not that I mind, but it was just far too awkward. Soon the house was filled with my loud yelp, followed by a booming thud when I fell out of bed. Awakened by all of the commotion, Morrigan sat up and stared groggily at me.

"My, you're noisy," she said, rubbing her eyes.

I stared at her in awe. She was wearing one of my yellow t-shirts, which was pretty big on her…and that was it. It felt like I was blushing since she was in just a t-shirt and I was in my usual sleeping attire, a tank and boxers. I scowled at her.

"What the hell are you--!"

I was cut off when my dad busted into the room. I hadn't realized that I had scooted that far away from the bed until the door slammed into me.

"Daisuke what's…?"

He trailed off when he saw Morrigan sitting up on my bed, staring blankly at him. I examined the look of awe on his face and then the bat he held in his hand. I assumed when he heard the noise, he came to my aid. He looked at me with his eyes narrowed and I looked at Morrigan, then at him and realized what was happening.

"Aw crap! I can explain!"

"Sure you can son," He said, grabbing my shirt and dragging me out into the hallway. "You can explain to the fat end of this baseball bat."

* * *

Later that morning, Morrigan and I were on our way to school on foot. I noticed that she couldn't help herself but giggle at the large bandage on my face.

"That beating was your fault you know," I said.

"Aw c'mon Daisuke," she said, still giggling. "I think you handled yourself pretty well."

That part I didn't respond to. I did spend all morning dodging and blocking the insanely fatal swings of my father with some of the conveniently placed kitchenware. I thought I would last until he grew tired, but I didn't see his large fist speeding towards me until it crashed into the side of my face so I guess that was true.

"I still can't believe that you were even able to sweet talk my father into letting you stay at the house."

"Yeah," she smiled. "I wasn't really sure that it would work."

Morrigan had came up with this bogus story about her not knowing who her parents were and that she was a poor and defenseless girl trying to survive on her own. I didn't buy any of it, but my dad was a total sucker for that kind of crap despite being the burly man that he was and fell into it instantly. Then I realized something.

"So, Morrigan what did happen to your parents?" I asked. I was expecting to hear something like they're back at home or something like that. Instead, I saw her smile fade as she looked away.

"I never really knew who my mother was," she said. The tone in her voice was soft. "And my father passed on awhile ago."

After hearing that, I felt guilty for asking.

"Eh…sorry."

"Don't be," she said, giving me a reassuring smile. "By the way, about your parents…"

I stopped and eyed her curiously.

"How is it that you have white hair and your father has black hair? You two look nothing alike."

"Yeah I know," I replied. "I'm told that I look more like my mother, but I wouldn't know about that. I've never seen her."

Morrigan tilted her head.

"You don't have any photos?"

I shook my head.

"There aren't any. I was told that they were lost in a fire."

"I see." She smiled. "We have something in common."

I raised an eyebrow at her. She likes to smile doesn't she?

"Hey Daisuke, Morrigan," I heard someone yell.

We turned to see Jun and Rikku running towards us. That's when I decided to keep the events of yesterday and this morning to myself and encouraged Morrigan to do the same. She responded to me with a wink. When my…_our, friends_ finally caught up with us, Rikku automatically '_floated'_ over to Morrigan's side as we continued walking.

"Good morning Morrigan," he said in an unusual fruity tone. Morrigan chuckled.

"Good morning," she replied.

_I'd laugh too._

"I didn't expect to see you two walking together," Jun said, catching up to me.

Rikku stared at me in disbelief.

"You…were…walking…with Morrigan…alone?"

I scowled at him, figuring that he was so infatuated with Morrigan that he paid no attention to the fact that I was just a few steps ahead of her. He hung his head.

_Moron_.

But then again, I was kind of enjoying watching him writhe in his petty misery. I thought about telling him that Morrigan was living at my house but then I thought about the kind of rumors that would sprout if I did so. Besides, I didn't think he could handle it.

"Did you two hear about Mr. Redstone?" asked Jun.

"Yeah," I said softly.

With the events of yesterday suddenly flooding into my head, how could I forget? Morrigan and I were the only ones there when it happened.

"How could they not hear?" asked Rikku. "It was all over the news this morning."

"It was very unfortunate for him," Morrigan said. "I only met him yesterday."

"Mr. Redstone mentored a lot of students at Kings High School," I said. "Sure he was nuts, but still contributed a lot to the school."

"You have such a way with words Daisuke," Jun said dryly. "Jeez, I sure hope you don't speak at the funeral."

I smirked.

* * *

Morning classes flew by pretty quickly, probably because I wasn't really paying attention. Lunch period soon came along and I went into the café and saw Jun next to Morrigan, while Rikku moped on the other side. They suddenly seemed to be talking seriously about something.

"Hey guys, what I miss?" I asked bluntly, as I sat down.

"Did you see this?" Rikku asked me, handing me a newspaper.

I quickly scanned over the newspaper that read _Down Town Genocide, 12 dead_. I had read that last night. There had been a series of deaths in the town square.

"The attacks were from some kind of animal," Jun said.

I quickly looked towards Rikku.

"If you say werewolf, I'm hitting you," I said plainly.

Rikku grinned as he started scratching his head.

I didn't feel like hearing it. Werewolf was just plain crazy, but after a day with Morrigan, it didn't seem too far from the truth. Of course, I couldn't tell them that. I glanced at Morrigan and noticed the look of suspicion on her face. She probably thought it was actually another monster and I was a little afraid when a look of delight appeared on her face. What is she up to? I was so worried about the expression on her face that I didn't notice our uninvited guest. All of us except for Morrigan, jumped when she slammed her hands on the table.

"Eh… hi May," said Jun, sounding a little startled.

"Hey did'ya hear?" the red haired girl asked.

May Valentine was the school's unofficial journalist who always knew where news would happen before anyone else did, and was the main source of the latest gossip. Whenever one would want to know something, she was the one they'd talked to. Whenever there was something I missed, I'd usually just ask Jun about it since she usually knew just as much as May would. Besides, May was Jun's friend and only talked to Rikku and me whenever she was around.

"Seeing that you're here, I'm sure we'll hear soon enough," I joked.

She scowled at me then huffed. She always took me so seriously. That's mainly the reason why she and I didn't get along.

"Well," she said before glaring at me first. "There's someone standing in for Mr. Redstone."

"Already?" Jun asked, sounding surprised.

"Who in the world would substitute for Mr. Redstone?" asked Rikku, not believing what he just heard himself.

"Well who ever he is, we'll be meeting him soon," I said bluntly.

Morrigan nodded.

"We have biology next period," she said.

May grinned slyly at me.

"Maybe this guy's a mad scientist like Redstone," she said.

"Or maybe he's a werewolf," Rikku said, his face growing grim.

Instantly, I slammed my fist into his arm. He smiled halfheartedly, rubbing his arm.

"Well whatever the case, good luck," May said, walking away.

I was glad that she was gone. Her personality was bugging me. Usually she was this self-centered girl who talked everyone down. She was a very popular girl and secretly had a crush on me back in junior high. I only learned about that from Jun. I wonder to this day on how the hell we ever became acquainted. I wasn't very popular. I'm still not.

"I wonder to this day how she liked you," Rikku said.

"I do too," I replied dryly. That's when the bell rang. "Well, we'll catch you guys later."

* * *

I walked into the classroom right behind Morrigan, rubbing my shoulder. All the guys were starting to show their hostility by punching me in the shoulder followed by a "What's up Daisuke". Apparently they had a problem with Morrigan hanging out with me. I didn't blame them. Morrigan had gained popularity in such a short time and just about every guy wanted to go out with her. Guess that's the succubus charm. Weird that I'm not effected. I took my seat next to Morrigan and hadn't dared to look back. I could feel the glares that some of my classmates were giving me. I looked over at Morrigan and noticed that she seemed…uncomfortable.

"What's wrong with you?"

"There's something weird going on here." She replied.

"You mean other than you?" I asked.

She smirked.

"You love to joke around."

I smiled at her. Funny how we became friends even though she tried to kill me (I still haven't gotten over that and never will). We continued our conversations until the principal, Mr. Gates entered the classroom. The way I looked at him, He was a fat bald guy in a dark blue suit. Some of us wondered how he was able to fit into any of the suits that he wore without ripping them open. He made the guy following him look wimpy. They both turned and faced the class.

"Good afternoon everyone," Mr. Gates said. "I'm sure most of you have already heard about our loss of Prof. James Redstone and I'm also sure that the students are not looking forward to me teaching the class for the rest of the year."

_You got that right pork chop._

That's when I quit listening to and looked at Morrigan who seemed to be staring at the guy next to Mr. Gates. I noticed that the younger guy was staring back at Morrigan. His sliver hair was spiky and long but just passed his shoulders. His wardrobe seemed very professional being in a buttoned up plum vest with a matching pair of slacks. His dress shirt was a darker shade of violet. The only thing that really stuck out on him was his light yellow tie, which didn't look too bad. Soon the principal nodded to the younger looking man and stepped out of the room. I assumed that he was the replacement for Mr. Redstone, but then what do I know? I wasn't listening.

"My name is Prof. Jonathon Talbain," the man said. "James was my best friend. Let's have a moment of silence in his memory."


	4. Wolfman: Chapter 2

**

* * *

4

* * *

**

Prof. Jonathon Talbain didn't seem too bad of a teacher and that was the best time I've ever had in that period. Instead of doing an assignment, we had spent the entire class time getting to know Prof. Talbain and listening to his reminiscing of Mr. Redstone. It was weird though. Many of the students in my class were mentored by Mr. Redstone and seemed angry when they heard about the replacement of their counselor, but when Prof. Talbain comforted them they seemed to get along. No one in our class seemed to have any problems with him at all. He didn't seem to be like the mad scientist Mr. Redstone turned out to be but then again, I did read Dr. Jackal and Mr. Hyde and even that could be true (I didn't want to take any chances.).When the day was finally over, I met up with my friends outside the school. I only saw Rikku and Jun.

"What happened to Morrigan?" I asked Rikku, since she was in his last period.

"I dunno," he replied. "She just said that there was something that she needed to take care of and left."

_Something?_

That didn't sound right. Exactly what was it that Morrigan set out to do? Knowing her, it was probably something crazy – but whatever the case, I had to go find her and learn for myself.

"Oh I just remembered something," I said, while grinning. "There was something that I needed to take care of. Sorry guys, you're gonna have to go on without me."

Jun eyed me suspiciously. Obviously she wasn't buying it. Rikku on the other hand…

"Do you need any help?" he asked.

"Nah, I'll be fine."

"Alright, see you later," Jun said, still eyeing me suspiciously.

"Yeah,"

I couldn't believe how gullible Rikku could be despite how smart that he was. However I was glad that Jun didn't ask any questions when she caught my lie. I'm sure she knew that I probably had a good reason. I guess that's the advantage of being friends with her since the third grade. She trusted me and I hoped that she would continue to trust me after this. After seeing them go, I took off back into the school and began peeking into classroom after classroom, looking for Morrigan. I ran passed a few students and teachers before running into someone while rounding a corner, hitting the floor from the impact. I looked up to see a familiar red head girl on the floor rubbing her head. I noticed there were papers scattered all over the floor.

"Ah…May," I said as I began gathering them.

"Daisuke?" she answered, sounding incredulous. "Um…sorry for bumping into you."

I shook my head.

"No it was my fault. I shouldn't have been running to begin with."

She was soon on all fours grabbing the scattered documents. When we grabbed for the same paper, her hand touched mine and she quickly retracted it. Her voice was gentle, but I didn't really pay any attention.

"Uh…sorry," I said, picking up the piece of paper then handing it to her.

"It's fine," she replied. "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"I'm trying to find Morrigan."

"Oh…whatever."

There was venom in her tone. What's gotten into her? Did I do something wrong? She snatched the final document from my hand and stood up before turning away from me.

"I saw Morrigan going that way with Prof. Talbain," she said softly, pointing to my right.

I stared at her for a moment before thanking her and dashing down the hallway. As I ran I began wondering what in the world was she doing with Prof. Talbain. Was he affected by the succubus charm as well? After a minute of running, I spotted them heading for the roof exit. I stopped and kept my distance until they started up the stairs. After seconds of waiting, I cautiously approached the stairs but they were already on the roof when I got there and slowly climbed the stairs. I cracked open the roof door, but I couldn't see. I didn't open it too much because I didn't want to be discovered. Morrigan spoke.

"What brings the descendant of Kreutz to this end of the world?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same question," Talbain replied coolly. "But then I already know why you're here."

It sounded like Prof. Talbain already knew Morrigan's true identity. I guess he's another who's not affected by her charm.

"You're here for more souls aren't you?"

I heard an evil chuckle from Morrigan. I knew I shouldn't have trusted her.

"And what if I am?"

"Then I'm going to stop you right here."

That's when Morrigan laughed. Was Prof. Talbain actually some kind of demon hunter?

"Are you planning to amuse me Kreutz?"

"I'm planning to kill you." Talbain growled. "About Daisuke…"

"…What about him…?"

"Is he special?"

"Probably," she said. "…But he's nothing but prey."

_Damn! I knew I couldn't trust her._

"You shouldn't be here Daisuke." He growled. "Go home."

My eyes widened in shock. How long had he known I was there? Suddenly, a sudden breeze blew open the door exposing me to Morrigan and Talbain. I stared at Morrigan who looked very surprised to see me and noticed Talbain glaring at me from the corner of his eye. The most unusual thing about it was that his eye was glowing bright hazel. Didn't he have blue eyes? And wasn't he wearing glasses? I ignored him and casted a look of anger towards Morrigan.

"Go," I muttered.

"Daisuke?" the sinister tone in her voice disappeared. I clenched my fists.

"I want you to leave me and my friends alone," I said coldly. "And go back to hell, where you came from!"

I turned away and left before I saw her expression.

* * *

I decided not to go directly home that evening and walked through town to get my thoughts together. I thought about what she told me, what she was planning and wondered if they were true. Did she really plan on letting me keep my soul or did she have some ulterior motive to take it when I would least expect it? I wondered if our freshly established friendship really meant anything to her.

_I really hope that Talbain kills her._

I stopped on that last thought. Did I really feel that way? It was out of character of me. Normally I would never wish death unto anyone or anything, but was Morrigan different? For some odd reason, I began to feel guilty. Suddenly, a loud crashing noise yanked me from my thoughts. I looked to see that a bizarre looking dog had jumped out through the glass window of the deli. What made it seem bizarre was the fact that instead of fur, the dog seemed like it was inside-out. Since it was drooling and growling at me, I ran the other direction out of pure instinct. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that the dog was following me. I sharply turned the corner just as the dog had lunged at me, narrowly missing. I had skid to a stop when another bizarre looking dog leaped out of the alleyway in front of me and growled.

"Aw fuck me!" I said, not really realizing that I had said it.

I ducked just as the dog in front of me lunged and then started running ran down the alley. I hopped over a mutilated corpse and concluded that it was these dogs that were chasing me that were responsible for killing those twelve people. After seeing how the second one had lunged at my head, I concluded that jumping onto a nearby car wouldn't save me. It couldn't have been that I was short, because at 5'9", I'm not short at all. I looked back to see that one of the dogs had lunged at me from behind. I looked away to quickly think how to evade them and heard the dog yelp in pain. I turned to see that the dog had been knocked out of the air by something I never in my life expected to see…a six foot tall blue haired werewolf. The other dog lunged at the werewolf but it merely caught the dog and flung it into the other.

"Are you alright Daisuke?"

I stared at the werewolf in disbelief. Did it just talk? How the hell did it know my name?

"Daisuke, I said are you alright?"

I didn't really know how to answer that. I almost died…again, and there was a werewolf, a creature which I thought only existed in media and literature that was talking to me and knew my name.

"Uh, sure," I replied, knowing that there was no "alright" at this point.

We both looked toward the dogs that were now on their feet and growling at the werewolf, but he growled more ferociously. It seemed that the viciousness of the werewolf's growl caused the two dogs to melt. For a moment, I thought it was over but the liquefied dogs seemed to group together and take shape into something else. Finally they appeared as a red haired werewolf that was about a foot or two bigger than the blue haired one. The blue werewolf seemed in awe as I was at the size of the creature. Suddenly, what appeared to be miniature missiles began zipping around us and striking the red werewolf. In an attempt to protect itself, the red werewolf covered its face with its long white arms. I looked back to see Morrigan in her succubus form, shooting the projectiles from her wings. Before I knew it, the blue werewolf had taken this opportunity to strike. Unfortunately, the red werewolf was ready for him and struck first, sending the blue werewolf flying. It then grabbed the taxi cab that was sitting next to us and lifted it over its head. Seeing this, I took cover in the alley as he threw the taxi at Morrigan. I poked my head out and let out a sigh of relief as Morrigan simply leaped over the rolling car. To my dismay, the red werewolf spotted me and started towards me. I would've run of course if it weren't for the slight problem of having nowhere to run to. I backed into a wall as the creature closed in. I swayed to the left just as its fist crashed into the wall.

_That could've been my head!_

"SOUL FIST!"

The creature flinched and growled. I looked up and saw Morrigan in the sky.

"Daisuke, get out of there!" she yelled.

As I was about to escape, the red werewolf began breathing heavily. I realized that I was able to see its breath. For some odd reason, I felt that Morrigan was in jeopardy. The monster inhaled.

The red werewolf turned around with its mouth wide open and glared at Morrigan. Suddenly, a beam of light shot out from the creature's mouth. Seeing this, Morrigan dodged to the right and watched as the beam passed her. Unknown to her, my eyes widened as the beam curved and started for her from behind.

"Morrigan lookout!" I yelled.

She noticed it too late. She had looked back just as the beam hit her. I watched in horror as it exploded on impact forming a cloud of smoke around her. Suddenly, she fell out of the cloud and crashed onto a nearby car. Immediately, the red werewolf leaped towards her. Just then, what appeared to be a comet knocked the creature out of the air and slamming into the ground. The comet dispersed and revealed the blue werewolf. I ran passed the downed creature and to Morrigan. The roof of the car had caved in from the force of her fall. Gently, I pulled her off of the car while she remained motionless in my arms. I was relieved that she was still breathing. I became alerted when I heard the red werewolf getting up. Luckily, the blue werewolf delivered a flying kick to the creature's jaw, causing it to stumble backwards. The blue creature continued its assault by delivering punch after punch to the face, forcing it back further. I then hear Morrigan starting to recover and looked back at her.

"Daisuke?" she said softly.

Seeing her like that, made me realize something. Despite of what she said back at the school, she still saved me. Could it be that she was lying about all those things she said to Talbain? Thinking about it began filling my heart with guilt.

"Morrigan…I…" I trailed off.

I opened my mouth to try again, but Morrigan shushed me and placed a finger over my lips. She smiled.

"Tell me later," she said, as she stood up. "It seems that Kreutz needs my help."

_Kreutz?_

She called professor Talbain that. Could it be? I looked over towards where the werewolves were fighting and saw that the red werewolf now held the blue werewolf up by its neck, attempting to strangle it.

"Prof. Talbain!" I yelled.

"Daisuke,"

I looked towards Morrigan and saw that she had a calm smile on her face. How can she smile at a time like this?

"Could you take a few steps back?"

I eye her incredulously, but did so with no questions asked. I watch curiously as she held out her arm. Suddenly bats began fluttering around it. The number of bats fluttering around her arm increased gradually. When she put her hand on the object that the bats were forming, it solidified. I realized then that she was now holding a large cannon of some kind on her shoulder. I looked above her to see more bats forming smaller versions of what Morrigan was holding.

"SOUL ERASER…FIRE!"

Suddenly, a beam of light shot from the three cannons towards the two werewolves. The blue werewolf who I now learned was Prof. Talbain kicked off of the red werewolf's face to avoid being caught in the crossfire. When the ray hit the red werewolf, I was blinded by a flash of bright light and shielded my eyes with my arms. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the light faded. I looked towards where the red werewolf was once standing only to find a man laying crumpled on the ground motionless. I cautiously approached the man and saw that his limbs were bent in odd directions and that his eyes were rolled back. Clearly he was dead.

"Was he a lycanthrope?" I asked aloud.

"Something like that," I heard someone answer.

I looked upward to see the now human Prof. Talbain approaching me. He was shirtless and his plum slacks were torn. He was clutching his arm. Morrigan stood at my side.

"What was he Kreutz?" she asked.

I had noticed that the bat wings that were on her head had disappeared along with the wings that she flew with. However, she still maintained her succubus form. Talbain knelt down beside the body and plucked off the dog tags that I now noticed from around his neck and examined them.

"Codename: Cerberus," he read. "This man is just like the others."

_Others?_

"Kreutz, you've still never answered my question back at the school," said Morrigan.

Talbain thought for a moment then stood up.

"I came here to do research of an organization called ARC. Since their activity has been more active in this area I thought I'd come here under the guise of a biology teacher."

"Who are they?" I asked.

"I don't know too much about them, but they are a faceless organization that creates artificial darkstalkers."

"What the hell is a darkstalker?"

"It is a name for the creatures of the night that people used long ago." Morrigan answered. "Kreutz and I are excellent examples."

She looked back at Talbain.

"When you say artificial darkstalker, do you mean they create darkstalkers?"

Talbain nodded.

"From what?" I asked.

"Take a wild guess," he replied, looking at the body.

"They're turning humans into darkstalkers?" Morrigan asked incredulously. "This is absurd."

"I teamed up with Victor to continue the research, but they captured him before we could get any results,"

This was getting crazy. A faceless organization that was turning ordinary people into creatures that only existed in fiction, sounded way too farfetched. It made me wonder.

"Morrigan, you're not part of this organization are you?" I asked. The way she looked at me made me feel as if I had asked a stupid question. "Never mind, you don't have to answer that."

Suddenly, Talbain looked to the sky. He seemed alerted.

"Perhaps we should go,"

Just as I was about to ask him why, I then heard the answer. The air was filled with the sound of police sirens. Funny how late they were. With scrapped cars and the street looking the way that it did, not to mention the corpse that the three of us are surrounding, getting the hell out of there didn't seem like a bad idea. It would be troublesome to be interrogated by the police after something like this so I didn't argue. However, one thing did come to mind.

Riku was right about Talbain.

He had no idea by how much though.

* * *


	5. Rock the Dead: Chapter 1

**

* * *

5

* * *

**

That whole incident was still etched in my memory. This organization called ARC hasn't caused any scenes since then. They were probably keeping a low profile so that they won't be discovered.

I was happy that Morrigan and I mended our friendship and it turned out that she was only bluffing to Talbain after all. He told me that when he had sensed the Cerberus, Morrigan tried to contact me to see if I made it home aright. When dad told her that I wasn't home, she and Talbain came looking for me.

* * *

I sat up in my bed that morning and stretched, hoping that that morning would've been better than the others. I'd been having loads of bad luck for the passed three weeks and hoped that it was about to end. As I went to yawn, Morrigan had taken the opportunity to slip into my room unnoticed and stick a Popsicle stick into my mouth.

"Eh?"

I watched her as she peeked in my mouth.

"Hmm," she said then "It's not significant, but it's definitely still evolving."

"Hut ar hoo hoohing?" I tried to say with the Popsicle stick still in my mouth.

I sighed when she took it out.

"I was checking on your soul," she said, standing up and placing a hand on her hip.

I stared at her quizzically.

"Were you doing anything last night?" she asked.

"Anything other than sleeping, I don't recall," I replied.

"Strange," she said. "I could feel your soul last night. It was much stronger than usual."

Just then, I began having a bizarre taste in my mouth that wasn't there a few seconds ago.

"Why do I taste grape?" I asked aloud.

"Oh, I had a grape popsicle this morning," Morrigan replied cheerfully.

Realizing what she had said, I stared at her incredulously.

"And you just put the stick in my…?"

I groaned as I placed my hand on my face.

"Ah, Morrigan," I sighed.

"What?" the girl said, staring at me curiously.

Her boldness will likely be the end of me one day.

I looked up and grimaced at the witch hat that she was wearing with her school uniform. It was the second week of October. Morrigan had been totally ecstatic about this whole month. I on the other hand couldn't care less. Like a virus, she had infected my dad with her spirit and he too shared the same enthusiasm as she had. I could easily see why Morrigan loved the month so much, seeing how she fits into the same category as supernatural. It was amazing how she could go from this battle craving succubus to fun-loving girl. She seemed like two different people. Suddenly, I remembered something.

"Uh Morrigan, What time is it?"

She looked at me blankly.

"It's eight fifteen last I checked," she said.

Morrigan raised an eyebrow as she observed the look of total horror on my face.

"CRAP, WE'RE LATE!"

I immediately sprang out of bed and towards the closet and grabbed my school uniform.

"Why didn't you wake me?" I asked her.

"You seemed to be sleeping so peacefully," she replied. "I didn't want to disturb you."

As I started to get dressed, I realize that she was sitting on my bed…watching me. I looked back at her.

"Do you mind?"

"Nope, I don't mind at all. Please, by all means."

I stared at her in disbelief before yelling, "GET OUT!"

* * *

I groaned as I walked down the hallway towards my study hall period, staring at the slip that said in big bold letters DETENTION. That's the tenth one this month. Maybe I should've put more thought into entering the class. Morrigan was right behind me so she had detention as well.

_I guess her charm doesn't work on everyone after all._

I laughed inwardly at the mental note I made. Morrigan was favored by most of the students here and by some of the teachers as well, but it seemed like that didn't really keep her out of trouble – not like she tried to get out of trouble anyway which made me think that she had possibly asked for it.

It was kind of weird to I have to explain to her what a detention was in the first place.

When I entered the classroom, it was more noisy than usual and it seemed that there was a conversation that even the teacher was involved in. I didn't notice Rikku behind me.

"Good morning Daisuke!" he said as he slapped me unbelievably hard on my back.

I clutched my back and glared back at him, forcing a grin on my face.

"Good morning," I said through my teeth. I wanted to slug him for that but I was afraid that I might break something.

"I'm so friggin excited," Rikku said. "Oktoberfest is finally here!"

I looked at him blankly.

"Oktoberfest?"

He looked at me incredulously.

"Yeah," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You know, the concerts, the merchandise...the booze."

"I know what it is," I growled.

Truthfully, I really did forget. With meeting Morrigan and the few freaks that we 'played with', how couldn't I forget? I at least still remembered what was special this year.

"Lord Raptor's coming to our town this week, right?"

"Exactly, and I'm going to try to ask Morrigan to be my date."

I grinned at that. He's been trying to make these advances on Morrigan for as long as she's been here and she had shot him down every time. It had become a routine for them. Morrigan's been having fun with it by coming up with creative and hilarious ways to say no. Maybe I can get her to say yes just for his sake.

"Good luck with that one," I said.

"Thanks," he replied. "And who knows, after a few drinks, maybe I'll get lucky some other way too if you know what I mean."

I grimaced.

"You don't even drink."

"I like to imagine that I do."

"....You're a retard."

* * *

That afternoon, I decided to skip lunch and head to the roof. I had caught Morrigan in the hallway and had told her to meet me there. After waiting for twenty minutes I wondered why she's so late. Just when I decided to go look for her, she came strolling through the door.

"Sorry for being so late," she said smiling. "Mr. Whistler kept me in after class."

"What for?"

"Err… I'd rather not talk about it," she said sheepishly. "So, what's up?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. I've never seen Morrigan get embarrassed by something before. I smirked as I made a mental note to do some digging around later.

"Did you hear about the concert that's going on tomorrow night?" I asked.

"Of course," she replied. "Everyone here apparently is excited about it. Why do you ask?"

"Well…uh…"

I noticed a sly smile crept onto her lips.

"Are you trying to ask me out?" she asked.

"N-No, no. nothing like that," I said frantically. "Actually I wanted to invite you to come with us…on a double date."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. You, me, Jun, and Rikku."

She smirked at me.

"I' take it that you're gonna be Jun's date, while I be Rikku's." she smiled. "Sounds like fun. Catch you later."

I watched as she started back down into the building. I noticed that her smile was different and kind of sad with the sound of disappointment in her voice. I scratched the back of my head.

"I'm sorry Morrigan," I muttered.


	6. Rock the Dead: Chapter 2

**6**

**hello everyone, I'm so sorry how late this chapter is, but I've been reduced to the state of only being able to work on a small portion of this at a time. Every time I went to write some more, I'd changed the friggin plot on where the chapter is suppose to go. As you already know that another darkstalker makes an appearance and I've kept that and originally planned to end that darkstalker's debut here but the plot change caused me to do something that you'll probably be pissed at me for. Anyway I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**

The next day of school blew by pretty fast without much notice. Everyone was just excited about the concert that was going on that night. I however wasn't. To be frank, I was kind of nervous. Sure I was going out on a date with one of my best friends, but that wasn't what had me uneasy. It was the rumors about Lord Raptor's Oktoberfest concerts. Those who went to the concerts, something very unfortunate would happen to them during or after the concert, mostly death. Before I met Morrigan, I would've dismissed it as a random superstition, but now I wasn't looking to get acquainted with death for a fourth time in my life. I sighed as I looked into the bathroom mirror. I heard chuckles from behind.

"You almost look like a rock star," I heard Morrigan say.

I turned to see her standing in the doorway and find myself unable to say anything but stare in awe at her. She was wearing a strapless black dress that exposed her bare shoulders and the witch's cap that she had on earlier which made her look creepily stunning. It didn't take long for me to regain my composure and wonder when she had bought the dress or rather if she even bought it at all. Even though I got over her looks, I still stared at her. That's when she placed her hands on her cheeks and looked away.

"Daisuke," she whined. "You're making me blush."

I smirked at her "embarrassed" act.

"I'm sure Rikku would like how you look." I commented.

She looked at her outfit stoically.

"You really think so?"

There was that strange tone in her voice again. What's with her? Suddenly my dad appeared in the doorway behind her. He looked at me strangely.

"Why are you dressed up like a rock star?" he asked.

I glared at him. I then looked in a mirror. A blue jacket…a long un-tucked dress shirt…unbuttoned cuffs--holy crap I do look like a rock star. The only things missing are the earrings and the leather pants. I shuddered at that last thought.

"I'll go change," I sighed.

Morrigan shook her head.

"You look fine the way you are."

"Yeah, I didn't say it was a bad thing," my father agreed.

I thought about it. I really didn't look bad. I thought about trying to make myself look a little neater but, the dress shirt had sleeves that were a bit longer than the dress coat. I would look pretty dorky if I were to button the cuffs. I would look and feel even worse if I were to tuck the dress shirt into my pants. So I guess I'd be alright the way I was.

"So you two are finally going out," my father said slyly. "You better not get into any monkey business."

"Huh? Monkey business? What the hell are you talking about?!" I nearly yelled, not knowing that I was blushing.

"You know what I'm talking about," He replied coolly.

_Perverted old bastard!_

"Daisuke and I aren't going out," Morrigan answered calmly. "We're going out with our friends."

She looked at me with her usual smile.

"Right Daisuke?"

"Er, right."

My dad seemed please with that answer. It was true after all, unlike some of the half true stories that Morrigan was able to fool him with.

"Well, have fun…" he said as he disappeared down the hallway. "…On your date!"

It sounded like he didn't buy the truth. My dad is so gullible.

"Why the hell is my dad such an idiot?" I muttered.

I guess Morrigan heard me, she was giggling.

* * *

Morrigan and I met up with our friends/dates a few minutes later. We enjoyed watching some of Rikku's exaggerated reactions to Morrigan's looks. I complimented Jun's costume although it was basically the same what Morrigan was wearing except it was a dark green color. We arrived to the stadium where the concert was supposed to be held a little early to find our seats. We weren't surprised at the small carnival outside of the stadium but we were surprised at the amount of people who were already there. The concert wasn't due to start for anther two hours. It was Rikku's idea that we show up earlier to play around at the carnival. Before we parted ways to be with our dates, I saw a devious smile form on Morrigan's face and hoped that Rikku knew what he was getting himself into.

"Get a good look at him Jun, we may never see him again," I joked as we watched the two walk away.

She chuckled in response. We started on our way down the boardwalk observing all of the booths that were set up. We passed numerous gift shops and observed a couple of game booths. We stopped in one of the gift shops to look at some of the merchandise the sold there. After observing some of the disturbing items, I made one conclusion.

"This place is pretty gothic," I said grimacing at one t-shirt.

"Yeah," Jun agreed. She looked at her watch. "The concert will be starting soon, so we should probably go meet up with Rikku and Morrigan."

I agreed with her and smiled.

We decided to meet them outside the stadium. Knowing Rikku, he'd probably thought the same thing and was on his way with Morrigan. It felt as if we'd been waiting for awhile, but they never showed up. Where the hell are they?

"I sure hope nothing happened to them," Jun said worriedly. "There's only fifteen minutes before the concert starts."

"If something did happen, I'm sure it wouldn't stop Rikku from getting here," I reassured her. _And besides that, Morrigan's with him. She wouldn't let anything happen to him...would she?_

Even though I had begun to trust Morrigan more, I still couldn't help but to question her.

_Heh, some friend I am _I thought wryly.

"Hey isn't that Morrigan?" Jun asked suddenly.

I looked in the same direction she was facing and sure enough I saw Morrigan walking up a ramp which led into the trailer of a semi truck with Rikku trailing behind her.

"Daisuke, that's Lord Raptor's truck."

I sighed in exasperation.

"C'mon, we'd better go see what's going on." I said.

* * *

"Ah Daisuke," Rikku said as he watched us climb the ramp.

"What's going on? I asked. "Shouldn't security be here?"

"Morrigan went ahead of me and when I caught up to her, the security guards were out cold."

_I wonder if Morrigan's responsible for that._

Rikku and Jun followed me into the trailer where I saw Morrigan standing with her hands on her hips. I looked across the trailer and saw the well-know rock star Lord Raptor surrounded by what appeared to be technical staff. They had their backs facing us and were a little slumped over which seemed weird. Seeing that Raptor was in violet leather pants and in a tank, I guessed that he was still getting ready for the concert. I noticed the Union Jack on the thigh of his right leg and thought it was strange since he was Australian.

"Ah cripes, where's the bloo'y secur'ity when ya bloo'y need 'em" said Raptor. His accent made it hard to understand what he was saying.

"Lying unconscious in the parking lot," Morrigan said bluntly.

Raptor seemed taken back by her words, but then showed his anger again.

"You Aensland Bitch!" he nodded to his crew. "Take care of 'er an' 'er lit'le friends. I've got a conce't to pe'form."

My eyes widened when the three men standing before him turned around.

"What the hell?!"

"They're..." Jun said covering her mouth with her hands.

"Zombies," Rikku finished. "Aw man, we gotta..."

Just then, the door at the mouth of the trailer slammed shut. I grimaced.

_Oh perfect_ I mused.

Panicked, Rikku began pointlessly ramming at the door, Jun was frozen in fear, Morrigan wasn't doing much and neither was I. after what I had already seen, the zombies weren't much more of surprise than the whole 'door slamming shut and locking us in' thing. Since I couldn't have Morrigan reveal that she was a succubus, I thought I should do something. My eyes just so happened to wander towards the floor and sight a crowbar amidst some other equipment.

_That'll help_

Casually picking up the crowbar, I strolled towards the zombies that were shambling towards us rather slowly. I struck the zombie to my left first in the head then the one on my right. The third in front of me reached out and I shoved one end of the crowbar into its eye. Sure it was disgusting but I didn't let myself be affected by it. All three zombies lay crumbled on the floor motionless. I looked back to my friends to see them staring at me in total shock. I merely shrugged.

"I saw a problem and took care of it," My friends didn't reply and the silence was starting to get to me. I glance towards Rikku. "Hey are you gonna get us out of here or what?"

That seemed to snap him out of his stupor.

"Oh...right."

He turned around and took some steps back then charged at the door. Surprisingly, he ran right into someone who was raising the door on the other side making them both fall to the ground.

_That had to hurt. _

Me and the girls ran to the mouth of the truck and looked downward to see Rikku lying on top of a man. He seemed familiar. Oddly enough, he seemed to be wearing a lavender kung fu out fit.

"Mr. Talbain?" Jun said, sounding surprised.

"Hello Jun," Talbain sighed, then looked at Rikku. "Simmons could you get off of me?"

Instantly, Rikku was on his feet. Funny, I've never seen a guy look so angry and yet sound so calm before. Talbain sat up and watched as I jumped down from the truck then helped Jun and Morrigan down.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well, when someone yelled Lord Raptor, I came runnin'" he said dryly. "It's only by chance that I found you."

"But then how'd you know to look in a truck?" asked Jun.

"Wouldn't you find it suspicious to see two unconscious security guards lying in the parking lot?" he replied.

_That explains a lot._

Suddenly, Morrigan looked as if she'd just remembered something.

"Daisuke, we forgot about Raptor!" she said.

Oh crap! That's right! Raptor disappeared after he sicced those zombies on us. Just how was he able to control them? Hell, how was able to get out of the truck? As much as I hated it I had to admit that there was something supernatural going on here.

"Lord Raptor was in there with you?" Talbain asked, furrowing his brows. I nodded. "I see, well in that case, Jun and Rikku you'd better come with me."

Morrigan and I merely stood as we watched our dates go hesitantly with our biology teacher. I wondered what that was about. Then Morrigan turned to me.

"Daisuke, let's go find Raptor," she said seriously, and then walked off.

I wondered why we had to go find Raptor and I didn't object although I wish I had.

"Alright, tell me what's going on," I said, catching up to her. "I know you know."

"Well to start off, Lord Raptor is actually Zarock," she said.

"Zarock...?" I thought about it, and it dawned on me. "...Zabel Zarock!? But he's dead!"

"Was dead," Morrigan corrected. "Before you and Jun came, he told me that he was planning a harvest."

That sounded a little creepy. I stared at her.

"What kind of harvest?"

"A harvest... of souls," she said grimly. "And that's what he plans to do through this concert tonight."

I gulped. It wasn't like Morrigan to be grim. When she told me that, I realized that Lord Raptor or should I say Zabel Zarock, was responsible for all of those peoples death. It was like he came back to do again what he did the first time. That's when I began hearing distant guitar music. After thinking for a moment, I figured out where he was.

"Morrigan," I said to her. "Zabel, he's at the—"

Before I could finish, I suddenly had a very severe headache, or at least that's what I thought it was. My head hurt so bad that it brought me to my knees and I clutched my head in pain. That's when I heard Morrigan run to my side. I felt her hand on my back.

"Daisuke, are you alright?" she asked worriedly.

I couldn't answer her. This weird migraine made me feel as if something was ripping my head apart from the inside out. Suddenly, I feel myself rise off my knees and stand upright with my hands at my sides. What the hell is going on? I saw Morrigan stare at me curiously.

"Daisuke, what's wrong?"

"Well, my head hurts like hell" was what I wanted to tell her but instead what stoically came out was...

"Die."

Instantly, I saw a pair hands grab her throat. I couldn't believe what was happening...I was strangling Morrigan. I watched horrified as she choked. I wanted to let go of her but I no longer had control over my body. She grabbed my arms and kicked me very hard in the stomach – sending me flying into a pole, knocking the wind out of me. I cracked my eyes open and watched in relief as she placed her hands on her throat catching her breath. My head didn't hurt anymore, but my stomach sure did and so did my pride. "What the hell just happened" was what I wanted to ask but I didn't want to say anything threatening. Morrigan looked at me still breathing heavily. It was then I realized that I had said what I wanted out loud.

"I...don't know," she breathed. "It seemed like you were being controlled..."

_By who?_

I picked myself up off the ground. My legs wobbled as I stood up. I guess she kicked me harder than I thought.

"Morrigan..." I said, catching my breath. "Zabel is at the stadium."

Morrigan stared at me with wide eyes.

"The concert,"

I suddenly, realized what she was thinking.

"That music..." my head started hurting when I heard a guitar. "Zabel must've been the one controlling me..."

Suddenly, I had a dreadful realization. I turned away from Morrigan and ran towards the stadium where Talbain took my friends.

_Jun...Rikku

* * *

_

Morrigan and I arrived to see Talbain with his back turned to us standing over two bodies and I instantly recognized them as my friends. My eyes widened, fearing the worst.

"Jun...Rikku?"

When they didn't move, I looked towards Talbain enraged.

"Not to worry," Talbain said softly. "I only knocked them out."

Instantly, I was relieved. I looked over to Morrigan who was standing next to me and she was staring ahead in disbelief.

"Morrigan what's...?"

"We've got a problem," she said awfully calmly.

I raised an eyebrow and looked ahead. I was horrified to see an entire army of people marching towards us with a menacing look in their eyes. I gulped.

"Aw...shit!"


	7. Rock the Dead: Chapter 3

**Readers I present to you...Zabel's attack part 2. Enjoy!**

**7**

I sighed as I played the events of my perfect day over in my head. First, I was locked inside a truck filled with zombies, I won a free flight into a pole via Morrigan's boot leather express, and now I was watching as a zombie-like mob slowly made their advance towards us.

"I'm open to suggestions," I said immediately.

"I don't know," Morrigan responded. "As strong as I may be, I won't last against all of them."

"It's strange," said Talbain. "Zabel couldn't do this before."

"Maybe he improved in his powers," Morrigan said.

Talbain shook his head.

"Somehow, I don't think so. Right now, it'll be best that we find Zabel and put a stop to this."

Just then, I noticed that the guitar music had stopped. At first I thought that maybe he could still be in the stadium, but I was reminded of his disappearance in the truck.

"Any idea where we should start?" I asked.

Before Talbain could answer my question, the air was filled with an unearthly cackling. All three of us looked upwards and saw someone…or something standing on the top of the stadium.

"Is that Zabel?"

His appearance had changed. His skin was now blue from what I could tell and his abdominal area wasn't all there.

"Welcome mates! So'ry yo'v missed the conce't," he yelled. "But yo' can still listen to me new song at the afta pa'ty!"

Remembering what had happened earlier, I covered my ears just as Zabel began his guitar solo. Around that time, I noticed the zombie-ish mob quickening in their pace towards us.

"Oh crap!"

"Daisuke, do you know martial arts?" Talbain asked suddenly. I stared at him quizzically. "I've seen how you moved back when the Cerberus attacked."

I tried to remember, thinking up what I could tell him. I had to think fast because of the approaching mob.

"I studied kyokushin when I was eight," I quickly said. "Why?"

"Because you and I are going to cover Morrigan unless you feel that you can handle Zabel."

I grimaced at the comment. After seeing Zabel's new appearance, I figured that he was something far from human.

"I'll take my chances with the mob," I said.

Talbain smirked.

"I knew you'd see it that way," he said, pushing back on his glasses. "Morrigan is the only one who can reach him right now anyway. Now then, let's begin."

As soon as he said that, some man charged at him from a nearby gift shop. In the blink of an eye, Talbain delivered a kick to the man's face. It happened so fast that I almost missed it and from the looks of it, the man didn't even see it coming for he crashed quickly into the ground. I then noticed someone running at me from behind. I managed to dodge the weapon that he swung at me ducking and felt a small breeze as it whizzed over my head. When I turned around to face him I saw that he was armed with a lead pipe. Before he got a chance to hit me, I delivered a kick to his chest, knocking him to the ground. He didn't get up again. Another guy around my age charged at me and threw a punch when he was near enough. I merely stepped to the side and grabbed his arm then flipped him over my shoulder. An even bigger man caught me in a surprise bear hug. I was able to move my leg behind him before he lifted me off the ground and pushed back with my upper body. As he began to fall, his hold around me loosened and I was able to twist my body around and drill my fist into his stomach. The man released me and backed away doubling over. Seeing that he wasn't going down I jumped and sent a kick to the side of his head, slamming him into the ground. However, I didn't see another teen behind me. By the time I had noticed him, he was already bringing the steel object that I figured was a knife, down from over his head. Suddenly, Talbain appeared to my aid and hit the teen with some attack that I didn't even see. I was amazed by the power of it for it sent the teen spiraling a few yards.

"Morrigan, go now!" he yelled.

I looked towards Morrigan who had already reverted to her succubus form and watched as her wings dispersed into bats. They fluttered around her hips and then took form and solidified into two miniature jetpacks. An inferno erupted from the both of them and she rocketed into the sky and towards the stadium where Zabel was waiting. I felt Talbain press his hand on my shoulder.

"We should follow," he said.

* * *

Fighting through the mob to get to the stadium was a bit tiring. After closing the doors, we had locked them with the nearby bars, almost completely sealing ourselves inside. Tiredly, I placed the last bar over the last door in the stadium. Just as I took a step back and sighed, the people outside began pounding on the door. This startled me, but I kind of relaxed knowing that it would be hard to bust through steel doors anyway. I stared hard at the door. This seems pretty familiar.

_Night of the Living Dead. I guess hanging out with Rikku does pay off._

Suddenly, a hand latched onto my shoulder and I jerked in surprise. I slowly turned my head towards where the hand was coming from and saw Talbain giving me a stern look.

"Let's go," he said stoically.

"Don't do that!" I retorted.

I grimaced as I watched a smirk appear on his face.

"I understand if you're afraid. You can stay right here while Morrigan and I fight Zabel."

I stared at him for a moment then brushed his hand from my shoulder and turned to him, shaking my head.

"I won't forgive him for what he did to my friends."

With that I walked passed him and started for the main area of the stadium. When Talbain and I got there, we were expecting to find Zabel fighting with Morrigan but we didn't see either of them. Instead we got nothing but silence. Before I could ask "what happened to them", something soared through the air and crashed through the drums that were set on the stage. Morrigan hovered down and landed gently in front of the stage. As Talbain and I drew closer, some kind of zombie rose from the debris. Its skin was blue and its face had decayed so much that it looked like a skull with blue skin and red eyes. I was disgusted by the apparent mouth that was in place of its stomach. The leather pant were torn, but as soon as I saw the union jack that was still intact on the right thigh I instantly recognized who he was.

"Do you give up now Zabel?" Morrigan asked.

The thing addressed as Zabel cast a glare at Morrigan then at Talbain and I as we made halfway down the stairs leading to them.

"Three agains' one ain't fair mates!" he yelled un-humanly as he picked up his guitar and jumped up. "Le Marta!"

Suddenly, a six foot tall lavender speaker rose up behind him. The oddest thing about it was the pair of eyes that were on top of it. Talbain stopped running and so did I. he looked back at me with an urgent look in his eyes.

"Daisuke, Get down!" he yelled.

"Let's Rock boys and gals!" Zabel yelled then strung his guitar.

I lay prone with my head covered on the midway platform as I felt a powerful gust hit me. I heard Talbain yell above me. When I looked back, I saw him crashing through the wall in the back of the stadium. After a moment, the gust died down and I looked up in awe at the destruction. One section of the stadium actually caved in, craters were formed where benches once were. I looked back and saw numerous large holes where the exit doors once stood. I heard a disgusting chuckle from Zabel.

"Must've hit me own slaves," he said with what looked like a grin. "Aw well, if any of 'em got killed, I can always get new ones."

I stood up and saw Morrigan lifting herself off the ground. She must've sensed the fore-coming danger as well. I heard some grunts and saw debris movement behind me and looked to see Talbain stepping over a large rock and back into the stadium.

"Well that's certainly a new trick," Talbain said, dusting himself off.

"Are there any others you like to show us?" asked Morrigan.

I looked at her and saw that devilish smile on her face again. It was evident that she was enjoying herself.

Before I picked myself off the ground I picked up a broken pole, stood up and stared at Zabel. I grimaced when his attention shifted towards me and grinned darkly.

"Well now this is interestin'," he said.

He pulled one of the strings on the end of his guitar as if it were a chainsaw. That's when I realized that his guitar was actually a chainsaw in the shape of one and before I knew it, he lunged at me with it over his head. Their wasn't any time for me to react and so I suspected the worst, but just then I saw the afterimage of Morrigan planting her foot onto the side of Zabel's head, sending him flying sideways. I smiled at her as she landed gently in front of me then sighed in relief.

"Nice save."

She looked at me and winked then we both turned our attention to Zabel. I heard him mumble a few obscenities as he got back to his feet.

"Yo' blokes really gon' and done it now!"

He pointed at Morrigan then She and I noticed a huge shadow at our feet. Morrigan looked up curiously while I watched in horror as some giant purple ball swallowed her and stared incredulously as I processed what just happened.

"That thing ate Morrigan!"

"Well that's one problem out the way," said Zabel.

I glared at him. "And now…"

He trailed off and we saw something bright from the corner of our eyes. We both looked up and saw fire in the form of dragons. I watched as the dragons sped towards Zabel. He narrowly dodged them and they hit the ground then exploded.

"Daisuke, you try and figure out how to get Morrigan out of that thing!" Talbain shouted as he ran down the rows of benches towards Zabel. I looked to my left and saw that the giant ball had shrunk down to the size of a basketball and was now bouncing down the stairs.

"What the-- You little bastard, get back here," I yelled as I took off after it.

Now I wasn't paying any attention to how Talbain was fairing against Zabel in his human form. After seeing him earlier, I was sure that he was doing fine. I however wasn't doing so hot. The little ball that just had my friend for a snack was pretty hard to catch. I dove for it when I thought I had it, but it slipped through my hands. As I watched it bounce away, it stopped and slowly spun around. I noticed the ridiculous smile on its face. Is it laughing at me? It then turned around and continued its bouncing away. I glanced over to my right and noticed a nice perfect sized rock and chuckled evilly as I picked it up. I stood up quietly and smiled devilishly as I tossed the rock in my hand.

_He's not gonna know what hit him._

I pitched the rock as hard as I could and nailed the creature dead on. I watched for a few seconds and saw that it wasn't moving.

_Did I kill it?_

I walked towards the ball thing and poked at it with my foot. I realized that I didn't kill it and only knocked it out, then picked it up.

"Hey wake up!" I yelled at it. "Cough up my friend!"

The thing merely blinked at me, then stuck out its tongue.

"What the—I said cough her up dammit!"

I inserted my fingers into the ball's lips and tried prying the mouth open. That plan was stopped short when it tried to bite me.

"So that's how you wanna play!"

I turned the ball face down and began shaking it violently. My plan was to make it throw her up and if that didn't work, I could always try carving it open like a Christmas turkey. I smirked as I watched Morrigan slowly sliding out the thing's mouth. She was covered in green goop so she it the ground with a juicy plop. Tossing the ball aside somewhere I went to her side.

"Hey Morrigan are you okay?"

I got a groan as a reply. I then held up three fingers to her face.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Nine?"

I stared at the fingers incredulously.

_Well, at least she's okay._

She sat up holding her head.

"Ow," she said. "What happened? And why am I green and sticky?"

That's when Morrigan and I heard some kind of explosion. We both looked up and saw Talbain sliding our way on his back. I looked towards Zabel who was lying on his back as well, but he was smoldering. I guess Zabel isn't the only one who learned new tricks. He slowly sat up and glared at Talbain.

"Yo' mangy mutt!" he said. "You broke me ax!"

He jumped back onto his feet.

"You'll pay for this!"

I noticed him sinking into the ground and realized that he was escaping. I got up to try and stop him.

"N-no, let him go!" Talbain said, causing me to stop. I looked at him to protest. "He'll be back and besides, shouldn't those people be coming around soon?"

I hung my head.

"Yeah…" I said softly, letting my protest die in my throat.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the grounds were covered with police officers and paramedics. I found myself sitting on the back of an ambulance truck letting one of the paramedics treat the long cut that was just above my left eye. I winced as she began rubbing it with alcohol. She finished off by patching it up.

"You're one of the lucky ones," she said. "Take care yourself."

Just as she walked away, Jun walked towards me. I smiled ruefully at her.

"So much for our date huh?"

"Well, it wasn't all bad," she said, smiling at me. "Too bad I don't remember much of the concert. It must've been crazy,"

I stared at her in disbelief. She doesn't remember?

"What do you remember?" I asked.

"Everything up until where Rikku and I went with Mr. Talbain," she replied. She looked towards the stadium. "Whatever happened must've been terrible."

"There was an explosion," I said. "We were lucky that no one was seriously injured."

She stared at me emotionlessly at first then smirked.

"Liar," she said, catching me off guard.

How did she know? Was it really that obvious? I grimaced now knowing that I was going to have to spill the beans to her about Morrigan being a succubus and Talbain being a werewolf and Zabel/Lord Raptor being a zombie trying to take over the town. I was surprised at what Jun said next.

"Usually, you never lie unless you have a real good reason to," she said. "I guess I'll let you go this time, but please tell me what really happened later okay?"

I gave her a sheepish smile.

_Sure Jun, I'll tell you everything, someday._

We both heard a car horn and looked to see a red car waiting nearby.

"That's my mom, I'll see you later Daisuke," Jun said sweetly, then kissed my forehead.

I watched her as she left and remembered how much I loved her. I remember telling her that in middle school and we did go out for a while. It was at the beginning of high school was when we decided to just be friends. The love I have for her now is more like a love between siblings, maybe even deeper. I stopped thinking about it in fear of giving myself a headache thinking about it. I looked up and saw Morrigan approaching me. Thankfully, she had returned to her human for and had somehow gotten that strange goop off of her.

"It looks like the police bought that story that Kreutz gave them," she said.

"That's good to hear," I said as I watched her take a seat next to me. "So how did Rikku take it?"

"I couldn't tell you. He apologized on how the date turned out and if I didn't stop him I was afraid that he might cry."

I rolled my eyes. _That's Rikku for you._

"So, how'd it go for you?"

"Unfortunately, Jun saw right through me," I sighed. "Don't worry she didn't demand the truth from me."

"Well, that's alright I guess," Morrigan replied. "We'll have to tell her eventually."

I silently agreed.

"And besides, I actually had fun tonight,"

I smirked at her.

_That's not surprising._

"Too bad I couldn't get what I really wanted tonight though," she said, looking towards the night sky.

I raised an eyebrow at her as she then placed her head on my shoulder. What in the world is she talking about?

"I really…wanted…to be with you," she said softly.

I looked away from her after this little revelation. She said that so softly that I almost didn't catch it, although I wished that I hadn't. I couldn't tell whether she was just teasing or she was really serious.

"Hey Morrigan?" I said softly.

She didn't respond. At first I thought she was ignoring me, but then I heard steady breaths coming from her and realized that she had fallen asleep. I guess what went on tonight really wore her out. I couldn't believe she left me hanging like that.

"How unfair." I muttered.

* * *

The next day at school went on pretty normal enough. I thought it was a little funny on how no one who was at the concert could remember what happened. I thought it was funnier when some people tried to make up what went on last night. Alas, I am once again cursed with the truth. Things were pretty normal between me and my friends even thought I couldn't stop thinking about what Morrigan said before she drifted off to sleep. Thankfully, I didn't have practice after school that day and resolved to ask her about it. Halfway, on our walk home together, I decided it was now or never.

"Hey Morrigan, I was wondering… about last night," I reluctantly started. I stopped to look into her eyes only to find that she had completely vanished on me and I began to panic. My panic soon turned into relief once I found her standing a few feet behind me. The only odd thing was that a younger girl in a red skirt and white t-shirt had wrapped her arms around her waist, stopping her completely. I approached them to see what was going on. As I drew closer I saw that the girl had pink hair like Jun's except that it was shorter and lighter.

"I found you…big sister,"

My eyes widened. Did she just say what I think she said? I looked up at Morrigan, who had dropped her school bag and had the girl in her arms.

"Who is she?" I asked.

Morrigan's gaze shifted from the girl and onto me. The smile was different, like that smile of true happiness she wore as she slept last night—not that I was paying any attention of course.

"Daisuke…this is Lilith," she said. "She's my younger sister."

I stared at her for a moment. After hearing her say that, I muttered the first thing that came to my mind around that time.

"Aw…crap."

**Now I know that Lilith is actually a part of Morrigan's soul, but it is implied that Lilith is Morrigan's younger sister and I'm basing this storyline from that. Well, now that this chapter is finished, do you think you know what's going to happen next?**


	8. Bloody Red Riding Hood: Chapter 1

**Well this the fastest that I had ever completed a chapter by far. Especially, after mourning over the death of my christmas spirit. A short funeral service was held after pulling its broken and bleeding corpse from the depths of the woods next to my apartment. And going on what happened in last chapter, normally I don't try to do the romance thing. It just sort of happens considering since I live with numerous women who watches lifetime (ick) not to mention that it happens in the numerous action movies. Although it doesn't occur until after my thirst for blood is sated...I think I just said too much. Moving on...**

**8**

We decided to take Lilith home with us that evening. The two girls sat at the dining room table across from my dad while I leaned against the wall behind him. I rolled my eyes at them as they began their tearful act. This time it was the story of Lilith being Morrigan's long lost sister separated at birth and some other nonsense. Before Morrigan could even ask "Could she stay?" my father was already moved to tears.

"Of…course…she can stay," he said in between sniffles.

"But she's sleeping in your room," I added.

"Of course," Morrigan replied with a smile. "Staying in your room is out of the question, otherwise…I'd be jealous.

I was a bit taken back by her comment, but then it reminded me of what she had said last night.

…_I wanted to be with you…_

I shook my head frantically, shaking that thought from my head.

_Must not fall under her spell_ I told myself.

Unfortunately, that did me more harm than good. It only made me remember that I wanted to ask her about that. I was relieved when my thoughts shifted towards the younger girl who would now be staying with us from now on. I was curious on why Morrigan had never said anything about her before. Later that night, I decided to pay the girls a visit. I wanted to know a little more about Lilith. I awoke from my thoughts when I reached their door and knocked.

"Come in," Morrigan answered.

When I did, I saw that Morrigan was the only one in there, sitting in front a dresser mirror, brushing her hair. I was glad that she decided to wear sky blue pajamas instead of one of my t-shirts. I decided to let her keep the yellow one after she tried to give it back to me while still wearing it. She stared at me with wide eyes obviously surprised to see me.

"Daisuke? What brings you here?"

I looked around.

"Where's Lilith?"

"She's taking a bath," Morrigan replied. "Is she what you wanted to talk about?"

I put on a halfhearted smile. She's pretty perceptive isn't she?

"Just to make sure, you can't read minds can you?"

Morrigan smiled devilishly.

"Maybe,"

She giggled at the grim expression that was on my face then returned to brushing her hair.

"Just kidding. So what do want to know about her?"

"Well, first I want to know if what you said to my dad was true."

She stopped brushing her hair and placed the brush on her dresser. I was taken back by the look that she gave me.

_I think I offended her_

"I told you that we really are sisters Daisuke," she said softly. "And we really were separated at birth. We were reunited a few years ago."

After hearing that, I felt downright horrible. Morrigan really wasn't lying about she and Lilith and I disbelieved her. The way I was feeling must've showed because Morrigan was giving me a comforting smile, but it only made me feel worse.

_I'm such a jerk._

After moping over this depressing revelation for a moment, something else entered my mind.

…_I wanted to be with you…_

Hearing that echo through my mind, I began to panic.

"Daisuke, you're turning red," I heard Morrigan say. "Are you okay?"

Instantly, I knew what she was talking about and was able to shake that thought from my mind along with the blush.

"Actually, I'm fine. It's just that…"

Before I could actually finish that last thought I heard the door open behind me. I turned around to see Lilith standing there, wrapped in a towel and staring blankly at me. I looked back at Morrigan and cleared my throat.

"Good night Morrigan," I said then walked out the door passed Lilith. "Good night, Lilith."

"Hey wait! Daisuke!" I heard Morrigan call out.

I kept walking despite her calls after me. I guessed I was more of a coward than I thought and scoffed.

_I have the guts take revenge on a zombie and yet I'm too afraid to talk to a girl about her feelings._

I stepped into my room and threw myself across my bed.

_I'm really pathetic_

I got ready for school early the next morning. I didn't have to leave for another forty-five minutes, but I got dressed because something in my gut told me that I should. I smelled someone cooking and went downstairs to investigate. When I entered the kitchen, I was a little confused because it was empty. As a matter of fact, the whole downstairs area was empty. I was about to turn and leave but then suddenly…

"Good morning Dai!" Lilith said, suddenly popping into view.

"Ack! Eh, good morning Lilith."

That little girl scared me, but I soon got over and looked around.

"Say, where's Morrigan?"

"She already left for school five minutes ago," Lilith replied as she went back to the stove. "She said that she had a meeting with the student body."

_That Makes sense_

"Hey Dai, do you want any pancakes?"

I stared at her, surprise by her offer.

"Sure I guess," I answered. "But why are you cooking breakfast?"

"Well I thought since I'm staying here, I'd earn my keep," she replied. "So how many do you want?"

"Three's fine," I said, silently wondering why Morrigan hadn't done anything like this. "So what kind of pancakes are they?"

"Blueberry if that's alright with you," Lilith replied.

_Actually that's perfect_

I watched happily as Lilith set the plate with three pancakes on it in front of me and I was happily about to dig in when she turned around, but then I noticed something odd about them.

"Hey Lilith, I don't recall blueberries being green," I said staring at them closely.

"That's because they're a special kind of blueberries," she replied. "Grown in the south,"

I wasn't buying it. Something in her answer didn't quite click. It wasn't till my eyes wandered towards the counter and saw the yell box labeled "Rat poison" sitting next to the bowl of batter confirmed my suspicions.

_Heh, blueberries my ass_

"Okay, if you say so," I lied.

I had to get out of there quick. I decided that she had succeeded in whatever she had planned was the best course of action.

"Mmm, these are soo good," I said, shoving the morsels into my schoolbag. "Lilith you're such a good cook, Mmm. Well I'll be going now, see ya later Lilith."

After dispatching my hazardous breakfast into a neighbor's garbage bin, I ran towards school, praying that I would catch up to Morrigan. I smiled in relief when my prayers were answered as I saw her walking down a lone alley. She stopped when I called out to her and waited for me to catch up.

"Eh Daisuke, you still have at least another forty minutes before school starts," she said as I leaned over to catch my breath.

"Well yeah, but I really needed to get out of the house," I said. Then I remembered something "Oh and I wanted to tell you that I have a doctor's appointment at around noon so I'll be leaving school early."

Morrigan gave me a blank stare and then, "Alright then."

After that Morrigan and I continued a peaceful walk towards the school. Her words from last night flashed in my mind but it didn't seem to bother me as much. As we passed the corner of the third and final block to school, I noticed someone standing down the street from the corner of my eye. I observed as I kept walking and realized that it was Lilith and wondered what she was doing there. Apparently, she was staring at a large dog through the fence, but not just any large dog. The dog she was staring at was Tiny, the dog known not only for his demonically large size, but also his ferociousness. I remember two years ago when he had gotten loose. Rikku and I were unfortunately in the area at the time. We were lucky to escape the first time, and I was sure that the second would be a very different story. I watched in amazement as Lilith continued to stare at the dog, unfazed by his vicious barking. A dark smile formed on her face and I grimaced.

_She wouldn't let him out would she?_

My fears were confirmed when she sent that dark smile in my direction. I was instantly alarmed and chuckled nervously.

"H-Hey Morrigan, let's get a move on," grabbing the oblivious girl by her hand and then pulling her. "You don't want to be late, do you?"

"N-No," she replied, obviously perplexed by my sudden motivation.

Now I did know that Morrigan was a part of the student body staff. However, I didn't know what position she held. I was definitely in for a shock that day. I stood a little nervously in front of the desk of the student body president. The president had such an intimidating demeanor that would've made Talbain look like the Easter bunny. Unlike all of the other male students in Kings High, the uniform that he wore was white. He focused his dark eyes on me then sat back in his chair.

"Well, since you're here, I guess I'll offer a position to you," he said. "You did say that we needed a class representative didn't you, Ms. Vice president?"

Certainly I didn't expect that to happen, but that wasn't what shocked me the most.

"Yes I did didn't I?" Morrigan answered.

I stared at her in disbelief.

"V-Vice president?" I said to her. Morrigan nodded.

"So Daisuke, do you accept?" she asked.

I didn't answer immediately. I only stared at her in silence.

"Wow class rep huh?" Jun said as she sat down at our usual table. "I didn't expect that it'd be you to fill that spot."

_I didn't expect it either_

Actually, that was what the meeting that Morrigan had to attend was about. She presented me to some other members and after a quick vote, I was class rep – which wasn't so bad. On the downside however…

"Hey, since you're class rep and all, wouldn't that also make you Morrigan's subordinate?" asked Rikku.

"Yep," Morrigan said a little too happily.

I sighed as I snapped opened my grape soda. Of course I kept the reason why I was there in the first place to myself. Who'd believe cute little Lilith (although my friends didn't know that she existed at the moment) tried to off me twice this morning (yes that dog would've killed me.). I lifted the can of soda to my face to take a sip, but then I felt depressed and put it back down. That's when May decided to pay another unexpected visit to our table. When she hit the table, it knocked over my can of soda. Normally, I'd be upset, but I was feeling pretty down anyway.

"Well hello there Mr. Class rep," May said sassily.

"Hey May," I said unenthusiastically. I looked away from her and towards the purple liquid that was once my drink, run across the table. My eyes widened when I realized that the soda was actually eating through the table.

"What the hell?!"

Morrigan, May, and Jun watched as the liquid worked its magic with intrigue. Rikku only shrugged and shook his head.

"The things they give us in this cafeteria," he said sounding completely unsurprised.

I just so happened to look up towards the window and see a flash of pink zip by and grimaced.

_Lilith_ I mused.

Although I wondered how she was able to swap my soda with acid, I didn't want to stick around for any other traps she might have laid for me.

"It's time for me to go, you guys." I said standing up.

My friends bid me farewell and I began walking away, May however…

"Hey waitaminute!" she said as she caught up with me. "I was trying to interview you."

"I can't," I said apologetically. "I have an appointment. Maybe we can do this some other time."

She stopped walking along side me. I heard her utter the word 'jerk'. I stopped and turned towards her.

"I'll make it up to you," I said, grinning.

Now I don't know if I was just seeing things, but before I left, I could've sworn…that May was blushing.

I sighed as I made my way towards the bus station that would take me to the clinic. Lilith's little switch with the soda was murder attempt number three, I had no idea when murder attempt number four would inevitably come, and I was pretty hungry since I didn't eat breakfast or lunch. At the moment, my life sucked. Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, by the time I arrived to the bus station, my bus already left and now it would be another hour before another came. After five minutes of cursing my luck, I sat down on the bench and sulked.

"Now I'll have to walk," I grumbled.

If I walked to the clinic, of course I'd be late by at the least, five minutes, but that was better than showing up an hour later. As I stood up to begin my walk, I spotted something very peculiar not too far down the street. I narrowed my eyes to make sure I wasn't just seeing things.

_Is that…little red riding hood?_

I observed her more and could see that she seemed to be looking for something. So I thought I'd be nice and see if I could help her.

"Excuse me," I said, approaching her. "Are you looking for something? Perhaps I could help."

The girl just stared at me at first but then she seemed to warm up.

"I'm here to visit a friend of mine," she said sweetly. "I can't seem to find her."

She handed me a photo. As I examined it, I saw that it was a picture of Lilith in her human form wearing a white t-shirt. She looked as cute in the photo as she did in person.

"Her name is—"

"…Lilith," I said, cutting her off.

Her face seemed to light up after hearing me say her name.

"Oh, do you know her?" she asked, beaming.

I nodded.

_Unfortunately_ I mused.

"Do you know where's she is?"

I stared at her for a moment. Something about that question didn't seem right at all.

"Er…No, sorry," I replied.

I watched as the girl's smile faded and disappointment set in.

"Alright, thanks anyway," she said.

"Sure, Red Riding Hood"

"…Baby Bonnie Hood," she said, glaring at me.

I smiled ruefully.

"Eh, sorry,"

I watched her as she passed me by. I didn't like those smiles she wore. They seemed so…

_Fake._

**Okay, okay so the thing about me trying not to do the romance thing isn't true. Hell during the first few months of me being an author I spent reading nothing but romance fanfiction just to learn how they did it. My first try didn't really work out too well. My second try however gained me some recognition and now I can't write a single fanfiction without putting some romance in it. oh and if you didn't know, this is my first attempt at writing in 1st person and I must say, it's a lot easier than writing in 3rd person.**


	9. Bloody Red Riding Hood: Chapter 2

**9**

I walked through the doors of the clinic a little earlier than I anticipated. It wasn't long however before my thoughts wandered back to that girl. What did she want with Lilith? More importantly…

"Why the hell was she dressed like little red riding hood?"

I grimaced realizing that I said that out loud. I had absentmindedly walked towards the receptionist's desk and now she was staring at me.

"What are you talking about?" she asked giving me a blank stare.

_Oh great now she must think I'm crazy _I mused. "Eh, nothing, I was just remembering something."

The receptionist continued to stare at me and then "You're here for an appointment right?"

"Eh, yeah," I said, smiling sheepishly.

"Well, you know the drill," she handed me a clipboard with papers to sign and I took it with me into the waiting area.

It didn't take long for me to fill it out. There were numerous other people waiting there, some watching TV while others reading magazines. I sat there thinking about that girl who called herself Baby Bonnie Hood. I chuckled at the sound of the name because it was much funnier than Little Red Riding Hood. But the fact that she was dressed that way made me suspicious. Her smiles were saccharine, too sweet and I'm good enough at reading people to be able to tell that she wasn't to be trusted.

"Daisuke Inoa?"

I snapped out of my thoughts at the sound of my name being called. I looked up to see a nurse looking at me as if she was waiting for something. It then dawned on me that she was waiting for me and I stood up and followed her down the back hallway. After passing a few empty rooms, she entered a certain room and told me to lie down on the bed that was in the center. She said it was a bed but it seemed more like a table with a cushion on top to me, but I lied down like she asked. She put some kind of cloth over my eyes which confused me. I tried asking why she did that, but I sensed that she had already left the room so I lied there alone with this strange cloth over my eyes. After being there for what seemed like forever, I heard someone walk in and close the door. I felt a little uneasy when I heard a small clicking noise.

_Did they just lock the door? _I wondered.

"Hello there Dai," I heard someone say. "How are you today?"

"Uh…fine I guess," I said with uncertainty.

The voice belonged to a young girl. I automatically assumed that it was one of the nurses, but then something occurred to me.

_This nurse sounds familiar_

"Well that's good to hear," she said.

I remained silent to let her voice register. I thought for a moment as I heard her say something else and then it clicked.

"Lilith?" I said, removing the cloth from my eyes. "What're you—OH CRAP!!"

I rolled off of the bed just as Lilith impaled it with a very unusually large syringe. I stared at it in incredulously for it was about the size of a yard stick with a foot long needle. I then noticed that Lilith was now wearing a nurse's uniform with a red small pair of bat-like wings jutting from her head.

"Now Dai," she said sweetly, despite the fact that she had a demonic look in her eyes. She pulled the syringe out from the bed. "You haven't had all of your shots, so be a good boy and stand still."

_Not in your life_ I mentally remarked.

I dodged to my right when she charged at me with the syringe and this time impaled the wall. Luckily for me, this time it got stuck and she seemed too preoccupied pulling it out to notice me making my escape.

"Later," I muttered as I unlocked the door and slipped out.

* * *

I jogged through the corridors for several minutes and remembered that it hadn't taken me that long to get here and realized that I was lost. The clinic was pretty big, almost as big as an actual hospital. After another five minutes of jogging, I noticed something.

_Where is everybody?_

The clinic was usually busy. The halls were usually filled with numerous practitioners and patients and at the moment, I was seeing neither. I sighed in relief when I finally found the main lobby. I headed straight for the receptionist's desk so I could tell her about Lilith. To my dismay, it wasn't the receptionist who was sitting there, but instead was Lilith wearing the receptionist's clothes and reading a magazine. I ran out the main entrance before she noticed.

* * *

It's pretty funny how one easily loses track of time when someone is trying to execute them. I looked into the sky and saw that the sun was setting. I had a hunch that Morrigan would be home or at least on her way by now. Sighing I decided to head home while keeping an eye out for Lilith. It was clear that I wasn't going to get a good nights sleep tonight, not with the little psycho living at our house. After a few minutes of walking, I made it to the only bus stop. I looked around wondering where Lilith might pop up next.

_If I'm not careful, I may not make it home tonight,_ I mused.

Suddenly, a loud scream filled the air. I realized that it belonged to a girl, but it wasn't just any girl.

"That was Lilith!"

I stared towards the direction of where the scream came from, debating with myself whether or not if I should investigate. Suddenly, the bus rounded the corner and stopped in front of me. The doors opened and the bus driver stared at me, waiting for a decision to be made.

* * *

Soon I found myself running down the empty street wondering, _is Lilith alright?_ Something deep down assured me that she was still alive but was in danger, thus feeding my resolve to find her. I had no idea where this concern for Lilith's safety came from, but I knew that I was reacting to it. As I reached the end of another block I heard sinister chuckling, followed by a "I'll get a bonus for your head," and stopped. I peered around the corner and eyed two individuals, one of them standing and another sitting down closely next to the other. I studied the one that was standing and realized that that was the girl who I had encountered earlier who called herself Baby Bonnie Hood. She seemed to have the one sitting down by the hair. Observing, I saw that the one sitting down was a girl. She was wearing a red corset with a feathery strap and wore sky blue stockings with navy blue bat designs embroidered into them. The realization hit me when I saw the pink hair and the small red wings in her head. I stepped out from around the corner and confronted Baby Bonnie Hood.

"Hey!" I yelled getting her attention. "What are you doing?"

Baby Bonnie Hood sent a bizarrely evil glare my direction which my me gulp and question why I was there.

"Nothing that concerns you," she replied. "So if you'll just run along, nothing bad will happen to you."

Somehow, I was able to calm myself down. I looked at Lilith who was staring at me with red eyes. That's weird, weren't they blue earlier?

"That girl…" I said. "…What do you plan on doing with her?"

Baby Bonnie Hood smirked.

"Kill her," she replied bluntly. "Then I'll take her body to my employers—not that it's any of your business."

My eyes widened.

"Kill her? Who the hell are you?"

A very dark grin appeared on her face.

"My real name's Bulleta. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go take care of this," She answered coolly.

My eyes darkened.

"I…can't let you do that."

She raised an eyebrow at me.

"You can't huh? Funny, just what do you plan to do to stop me?"

That was it. That's what was bothering me. What could I do to stop her? It was apparent that I couldn't do much. Since she was able to subdue a succubus so easily, then taking me out would be a breeze.

"Well…I was going to let you leave, but now that you know of my existence…"

She pulled an Uzi from her picnic basket and had it pointing at me before I realized it.

"…You're gonna dance for me."

I stared at her in disbelief.

"Excuse me?" I said as if I didn't understand.

"You heard me, now dance!" she said as she began firing.

So what did I do? Only every dance I could think of that involved foot motion. It's amazing what things you find out about yourself when someone is unloading twenty rounds a second at your feet. After what seemed like forever, she stopped. I leaned over to catch my breath and looked towards her to see her staring at her smoking gun.

"Out of ammo," she said bluntly. "Aw well, I have other ways to kill you."

She released Lilith and let her fall to the ground. I guessed that Bulleta weakened her so much that she was unable to fight back. Bullet reached into her basket and pulled out a small vial of red liquid. She pulled the cork and poured the liquid out onto the ground then tossed the vial over her shoulder. I watched curiously as the liquid began to take form and shaped into the dogs I encountered when I first found out that my biology teacher was a werewolf.

"Cerberus?" I muttered, remembering what Talbain called them. I wondered how in the world she could get a hold of those and then it hit me.

"You're working for ARC aren't you Bulleta?"

An innocent cheerful smile appeared on her face as she clapped her hands together.

"My, you're so smart!" she said happily. "That's exactly why you need to die."

Then she turned evil again.

"Sic 'em!"

As ordered, Bulleta's attack dogs darted at me.

"Oh shit."

I frantically looked around and realized that we were in the old part of town. Most of the buildings were pretty much abandoned anyway. I ran towards the building to my left and rammed the door open. I scanned the dark room and saw a rickety old table sitting in the center of this old room. Sensing danger, I ducked just as one of the Cerberuses lunged at me from behind. I noticed the other Cerberus coming at me and I moved to the side and grabbed the table, flipping it over to separate myself from the killer dogs and broke off one of the legs. Suddenly, one of Cerberuses lunged at me from behind. I whirled around to counter but it pinned me to the ground. Luckily, I stopped it from biting my throat by shoving the table strut into its mouth. It drooled as it held the blunt object tightly in its jaws. Disgusted, I kneed the creature then kicked it off of me. I quickly got up just as the other dog rounded the table and lunged at me, and then I blind-sided it with the blunt object while it was still in mid-air. I cringed as I heard it hit the ground with a juicy plop. I looked back and saw the other Cerberus lifting itself off the floor. Before it realized what was happening, I approached it and beat it to death with the strut. Staring at it as it laid motionless on the floor, I dropped the object. My breathing was heavy, I approached the door tiredly. I froze. Bulleta was standing a few feet from the door with a missile launcher pointing directly at me. I saw her dark grin form from the shocked expression on my face. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse…she fired.


	10. Bloody Red Riding Hood: Chapter 3

**10**

There was an explosion. I know because I was there. I didn't see the explosion. I only saw blackness. Suddenly, there was nothing, nothing but silence. Then I heard Bulleta's voice.

"If you want to save this demon girl then meet me at the old cathedral near Olive Park," she said. "That is…if you're still alive. You have thirty minutes. Her life is in your hands."

And then silence. Soon, I began feeling cramped in where I was and pushing outward.

_What the? It's stuck!_

I couldn't take being inside the cramped darkness any longer. With one strong kick, the dark door flew off and light poured in…and so did air.

When Bulleta fired the missile launcher, I had taken cover inside an old safe. I surveyed the room only to find that it wasn't much of a room anymore, but a blazing inferno. If I didn't take cover, I would've died for sure. If I couldn't get out of the safe on my own, then the fire department would've given me a hand. Speaking of which, I heard sirens drawing quickly towards me. I was looking a little roughed up and they would've either found me as a victim or an arsonist. I couldn't afford either since time wasn't on my side. I started away from the scene then stopped.

_Do I really want to save her?_

She had tried to kill me like Morrigan had, except she didn't give up so easily. I wondered if I did save her which at the moment seemed very unlikely, would she try to kill me again. I had stared death in the face numerous times today. It seemed like the supernatural really had it out for me (Yes, a gun-toting little red riding hood is supernatural in my book.). If I did go to the old cathedral, what could I do against Bulleta? I stared at my hand then closed it into a fist. My decision being made, I smirked.

"I'm too nice."

* * *

I stopped in front of a large old church and took a moment to catch my breath. After running all the way here, I was pretty tired. I knew that what awaited me inside the cathedral couldn't compare to what I had endured earlier tonight.

_There's no turning back at this point._

Night had long fallen and I told Morrigan that I would be home at around this time. I knew how uneasy she got when I was late and was bound to come looking for me soon. I figured that since Bulleta was able to take out Lilith, Morrigan would surely have trouble as well so I decided that it was better to keep her out of this. For once, I wanted to protect her like she had me. She was after all a friend. I stopped at the doors of the big old church and took a deep breath.

"Well…here goes," I muttered.

I pushed open the door and stepped inside. The lighting within the church was rather dim, but bright enough so that I could see. The sanctuary wasn't as big in length as it was in height. When I looked forward, I saw Lilith tied to a cross that stood in the center of the pulpit as if she was crucified.

_That's ironic _I thought.

Something didn't feel right at all about the whole thing. Bulleta told me to meet her here at the church, but she wasn't anywhere in sight so I cautiously started forward. When I was halfway down the aisle, the door slammed shut startling me. I spun around staring at the door with eyes wide. I figured that it was locked. Then, I began hearing sinister chuckling behind me.

"You're either very brave or very stupid," I heard Bulleta say.

"Chances are I'm probably both," I answered.

I turned around to see Bulleta standing on the platform before Lilith with her hands on her hips, giving me a sinister smile.

"Funny guy," she said. "Almost makes me regret killing you."

"Then don't and let me take Lilith and be on my way," I replied dryly.

That forced a chuckle out of her. I guessed that was a no.

_It was worth a shot._

I saw Bulleta's smile form into a scowl.

"You seem pretty human to me," she said. "Why would they be interested in you?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"Who's interested in me?"

"I would be more worried about your situation than that if I were you."

Bulleta seemed to turn good and began laughing cheerfully. No doubt I wasn't going to like what she was about to say.

"Well, since my mission is completed already, I only have to erase all evidence that I was here." She said.

"Why?"

"Because it'll trace back to my employers if I don't silly," she giggled. "Anyway, destroying evidence also means destroying this place since it served as my safe house. And of course there's the matter of you. I can't let you just walk around with knowledge of our existence."

"So which are you going to off first, me or the building?" I asked, trying to be sarcastic.

"I wondered the exact same thing, moments before you got here," she said playfully. "Then I figured I can take both out at the same time."

She grinned darkly.

"The moment you stepped through those doors, you activated all of the SEMTEX that I had taken the liberty to place all over to insure this place's destruction. In ten minutes, this place will be blown to hell and there's no way to stop the clock. I have the key to your escape."

I grimaced as the girl as she began laughing playfully. It was clear that she was beyond demented and deserved to have someone lock her up and throw away the key. It took me a moment to realize that she had pulled a long Gatling gun from nowhere and now had it pointing at me.

"Now with that being said…let's play!"

As soon as I saw that cylinder begin spinning, I dove in between the benches just as she fired. Unfortunately, the benches weren't doing too well as cover for the bullets ripped through them like a hot knife through butter. I felt the heat of a bullet on the tip of my nose when it whizzed by as I crawled across the floor, staying as low as I could. My dilemma wasn't looking to great right now; I had to somehow defeat Bulleta, and get Lilith, but my only way out was sitting in this psycho's pocket. All of this had to be done in just ten minutes or else we'll all die. Suddenly, the gunfire stopped. I froze wondering what was going on and sat up. I tried to spot Bulleta by peering through one of the numerous bullet holes in the benches, but to no avail. That's when something rolled under the benches and stopped right next to me. When I spotted it, I felt my face turn pale for I realized that it was a grenade that rolled up beside me. I scrambled away from it as it exploded and was thrown hard against the wall from the blast. As I slid onto the ground, I felt my entire left side burn with pain, from my back to the left side of my chest. I gritted my teeth in pain and in realization of what that meant.

_Broken ribs_

Now not only that I have to beat a gun-toting little red riding hood in ten minutes, I had to do that with a new handicap. As I lied on my back, I just so happened to look up and see Bulleta pointing the Gatling gun at me, grinning demonically.

"Hi," she said as the cylinder began to spin.

Somehow, I was able to roll out of the way just as a stream of bullets tore into the wall. Keeping as low as possible, I scrambled down the far right aisle way then hid in another row. I laid there silently trying to ignore the pain while trying to breathe. As I stared at the ceiling I heard Bulleta's footsteps, slowly getting closer. I needed to think of a plan that could possibly get me and Lilith out of this situation…alive. That's when I noticed the elevated platform. This church has a balcony area. Now if only I can get to it without Bulleta noticing me. Moving around with broken ribs is pretty tough.

"Come out come out, wherever you are," I heard Bulleta say.

She sounded pretty close so I figured that she would find me soon if I stayed where I was. I grabbed an old book which seemed like an old hymnal thinking it could probably come in handy later then boldly crawled out into the center aisle (which is the widest aisle out of the three) to get away from Bulleta and onto the balcony area.

"That's a gutsy move."

I froze after hearing her voice behind me. She must've been waiting for me out here. I slowly stood to my feet and turned to her.

"I didn't think that you would actually come out here," she said, smiling coolly. "You survived longer than I thought you would. There's only three minutes on the clock."

_Time sure flies_

"Well, that was a good game of hide-and-seek, but now it's game over."

This was it. No more chances. I watched as the Gatling began spinning and slowly closed my eyes waiting for its wrath to rip me apart. Suddenly, I heard a strange mechanical sound and opened my eyes to see that the Gatling gun had stopped spinning.

_Jammed?!_

"Piece of junk!" Bulleta growled.

I couldn't believe my luck. I had stared death directly in the face twice and lived, but I was sure that if I just stood there, my luck would eventually run out. While she was still fiddling with her jammed gun, I lunged at her and swung my leg at her from the side. She must've spotted me for she dropped the Gatling gun and jumped backwards, dodging my kick. When I saw her draw the Uzi, I threw the hymnal at her. Surprisingly, it not only knocked the gun from her hand but apparently also broke her wrist. I seized this opportunity to charge at her quickly and threw a punch. To my dismay, my fist went right into Bulleta's remaining hand.

"Crap."

I felt a strong kick being delivered into my gut. It was strong enough to send me tumbling a few feet. I heard Bulleta walking towards me as I lifted myself off the floor clutching my stomach. When I was on my hands and knees and about to stand up I heard a gun ready at my head and froze. I slowly raised my head and found myself staring down the barrel of a nine millimeter. I looked passed the gun and saw Bulleta's smirk.

"You lucked out earlier," she said. "Too bad it didn't change anything."

"Hey, before you kill me, could you tell me what you meant about what you said earlier?" I asked. "Who is it that's interested me?"

Bulleta's insolent smile faded and was replaced by a look of irritation. At first I thought she wasn't going to answer my question and put an end to my existence.

"The ones who're interested in you are my bosses, the executives of ARC," she said. "They think you're unordinary."

_Morrigan thinks that too_

"Why?"

Her devilish grin returned.

"Sorry, but you'll die ignorant in that one," she said, drawing the hammer on her Beretta.

_This is it_

Just by chance I glanced upward and noticed something huge falling down above us and dove to my left.

"Oh fu—"I heard Bulleta say.

Whatever came after that was drowned out by the loud crash that followed afterwards. I lift myself from the floor and looked back to see that one of the chandeliers that hung in the church had somehow gave away and fallen on top of Bulleta. I didn't know whether she was dead or not until she groaned. I walked over to her and pillaged the key from one of her pouches and eyed it. I looked up towards the ceiling where chandelier once hung. This couldn't have been an accident. When I looked towards Lilith, I noticed that one of her hands was hanging at her side in contrast to her other limbs that were still tied up.

_Did she…save me?_

As I thought about it, my eyes just happened to wander towards the floor and spotted a bizarre looking handgun that looked like it had a digital clock built into it. I realize that it was the detonator that Bulleta mentioned. As I observed it, my eyes widened to a frightening realization.

"Fifty seconds?!"

I ran quickly down the aisle and onto the pulpit and began untying the ropes that bounded Lilith to the cross. Once I had her down, I piggybacked her and made a break for the door.

* * *

Although I had made it out of the cathedral with Lilith on my back I still felt that I needed to get away as far as I could from the cathedral. Suddenly, it exploded. The force of it knocked me clean off my feet and into the pavement. Lilith fell next to me so I sat up and hugged her close to cover her from any debris that should be flying around. When it finally cleared I pulled away from her. 

"Are you alright?"

"…yes…" Lilith replied, looking away as if trying to avoid eye contact.

For a moment, we stayed that way, me staring at her and her looking away.

"…why did you save me?" she finally asked.

"…If you're looking for a logical explanation then sorry, I can't help you there." I said. "But I saved you because I wanted to."

She glared at me, apparently displeased with that answer.

"Even though I tried to kill you?" she asked me incredulously.

I nodded.

"I wanted to save you because ever since you started living at our house, I kind of…considered you…family. Besides, you saved me in the end anyway."

She stared at me in surprise. Honestly I was just as surprised as she was. I really didn't expect myself to say something like that, but from the look on her face, I'd say it was exactly what she needed to hear. She placed her head my chest.

"Thank you…" she said softly. "…and I'm sorry."

"Lilith…?" I had subconsciously wrapped my arms around her.

"I was afraid."

"Of what?"

"Of what you could become," she said quietly. "Has Morrigan told you anything about your soul?"

"My soul?"

The only thing that Morrigan has ever mentioned to me about it that it was different from any other humans and that it was growing. Whatever was happening to it, it must be serious to make Lilith afraid of me.

"Only that it was different," I answered.

Lilith clutched my shirt.

"If left alone to grow…" she began. "…You could become a threat to Morrigan's existence."

My eyes widened at this revelation.

"Is she…?" I started.

"…Aware of this?" she finished. "It's likely that she already is."

Well this was definitely a new fact about myself. A fact that I didn't like at all. I looked down at Lilith to see that she had fallen asleep in my arms, probably still drained from everything that went on last night. It wasn't long before I noticed someone approaching us. It wasn't until the person stepped under the streetlight that I identified as Morrigan, giving me a relieved smile.

"I'm happy to see that you and Lilith are okay," she said.

"Yeah…" I responded, and then looked up towards her. "Morrigan…I just want you to know that whatever happens, I would never hurt you or Lilith."

Morrigan stared at me, surprised by the comment.

"Daisuke…" she murmured.

**Jeez, plotting this chapter was just about the hardest that I could ever come up with. It was kind of weird on how it came to me. I played a whole lot of Resident Evil 4 the passed week and then dreamt at how the whole fight for this chapter started started. It had all the characters mentioned in this chapter with RE4 graphics and had the over the shoulder view with Daisuke at the beginning and the dream ended with Bulleta shooting at him. Pretty weird huh?**


	11. Dark Hunter: Chapter 1

**know, gone too long. Enjoy! **

**11**

In the aftermath of my encounter of Bulleta, Lilith had told me that the result of my soul's transformation could make me a threat to Morrigan. She was so exhausted from the ordeal that she had fallen asleep on the way home. She lied in her bed and hadn't stirred since then. I discarded my shirt into the laundry and went to my room and pretty much fell onto my bed. I was just as exhausted. I found it strange that my side didn't hurt any more. Just then, there was a knock on my door.

"It's open."

I waited for a moment then watched as my door opened. I was surprised to see my visitor.

"Morrigan?"

I sat up as she approached me and took a seat on the edge of my bed. The expression she wore seemed like it was concern mixed with depression. Knowing her to be upbeat and devilish at times made this expression foreign.

"Daisuke…you could've died tonight," she said then she hung her head. "No, that isn't right."

"What do you mean?" I asked quizzically.

"I mean that you should've died tonight," she replied.

I grimaced. Her answer didn't clear anything up but only confused me more. Before I asked, she held up my shirt from my uniform. I stared in shock at the shirt for there were a number of bullet holes within it, thus clearing up my confusion. I took the shirt from her and stared hard at it. I didn't notice it before. The black undershirt I was still wearing didn't have any bullet holes in it and yet my school uniform shirt did. I stared my hand.

"What do you think is happening to me?"

"I don't know," Morrigan replied softly. Then she turned to me, giving me a comforting smile. "It's certainly something to look forward to."

I looked at her, surprised at her last comment.

"Doesn't it scare you?" I asked.

"To be honest, it did at first," she admitted. "But not anymore, thanks to the promise you made."

I smiled at that now seeing that the possible outcome no longer bothered Morrigan, but then I wondered…if Lilith hadn't said anything, would I have still made that promise.

"Lilith's very protective of you," I said.

"Of course," Morrigan replied. "She wouldn't be able to exist without me."

I eyed her confused.

"Care to explain?"

"Well, you see Lilith's an incomplete being," She began. "She's really a manifestation of my _darker_ powers."

"I see, so she's actually a part of you."

Morrigan nodded.

"Ever since we joined together, her life force has bonded with mine. If I die, she dies."

She smiled.

"I guess I should go check up on Lilith." She said as she stood up then started for the door. "Good night Daisuke."

I couldn't help but smile.

"Good night Morrigan."

* * *

I was able to sleep comfortably last night now knowing for sure that Morrigan wasn't afraid of me. I wanted to ask Lilith how she felt about this, but she was still asleep and hadn't stirred since last night. Morrigan told me that she was still recovering and needed to rest and it was best that I didn't wake her. School started off normal for me, but I wasn't really all there. Actually, it was Jun who pointed this out to me.

"Hey are you okay?" she asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I looked up at her and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Of course I am," I answered.

That of course, caused her to eye me with worry.

"Somehow, I don't think so."

I stared at her confused.

"Why do you say that?"

The question made her smirk for some reason which confused me even more.

"I say that because you're writing geometry problems on your history report," she replied bluntly.

I blinked at her for a moment then I looked down at the paper. To my horror, right between "In the year of" and "1489" sat a ninety degree triangle with a few numbers around it.

_Well this is now officially a D paper_ I mused miserably. _And I worked hard on it too_

I sighed. Apparently my history and geometry grades weren't looking too bright at the moment.

"So are you going to tell me what's up?" Jun asked.

Although she sounded calm, I could tell that she was hiding her eagerness. I glanced at her and then stared down at my paper, thinking of what I could tell her.

"You know weird things have been happening in this town right?" I said finally.

"Yeah,"

"Well I—"

Just then, the bell rang, cutting me off completely. Jun smiled ruefully at me.

"I guess you'll have to tell me some other time," she said.

I reluctantly agreed. I noted that she knew that I was about to tell her about all of my recent experiences with the supernatural. That only proved how well she knew me. I sighed as I faced forward to listen to the teacher's lecture.

* * *

I didn't bother going to lunch, but instead went to roof to relax. However, I soon began feeling pain in my left arm. I had hoped that it would pass but suddenly it intensified. I pulled back my sleeve and stared at my arm to find the problem. What I found were strange markings and noticed that they glowed a faint red color.

"Well, that's unusual." Someone behind me said.

I looked back to see Talbain standing in the doorway of the roof exit with his arms crossed. Narrowing his eyes, he began his approach.

"You know Morrigan was looking for you right?" he asked walking up beside me.

"Not surprised." I replied, strained.

"I told her that you probably needed some time alone. Looks I was right."

Talbain stared at my arm.

"Wanna explain that?"

As soon as Talbain said that, the pain seemed to ease and I found myself out of breath. I stared at my arm and watched as the markings began to fade away.

"I don't know," I said, regaining my composure. "No, that's not true."

"So then, what is?"

"I guess I should start from the beginning," I sighed.

I started explaining why Morrigan came here in the first place. While I was at it, I told him about my little battle from last night and how Lilith came to live with us.

"I see," Talbain said once I was finished. He pressed back on his glasses. "That explains why I always see Morrigan with you, but I'm sure that's not the only reason."

"What does that mean?" I asked him suspiciously.

I narrowed my eyes when I got a smirk in reply.

"Nothing," he said. "It means absolutely nothing. I kind of find it hard to believe that you could become a threat to Morrigan."

"I couldn't believe it either until just now," I replied.

"I agree with you with that it's unnerving, but I strongly believe that you won't harm her."

I stared at him surprised. He seemed to pause to relish my reaction, but then soon continued.

You two are close. I can tell just by looking at you that your will is stronger than what is inside you."

With that being said, he started for the door.

"You're pretty level-headed, you know?" I said to him.

He stopped and looked back towards me with a smirk.

"If I wasn't, I wouldn't be able to contain the beast within me."

I smirked as he started off again.

"Whatever happens… happens Daisuke," he said disappearing into the building.

I smiled. I knew Morrigan wasn't afraid of me and now I had Talbain to relate to. I suddenly remembered Talbain telling me that Morrigan was looking for me.

_Maybe I should go find her._

When I turned towards the door I saw a strange man standing in front of the doorway. His eyes were hidden by the hat that he wore. He was tall, I guessed around six feet. His skin was pretty tanned and he wore a blood red robe with golden armlets around his wrists. I noted the large Buddha beads that he wore.

_A monk? _I wondered.

That's what I thought until I noticed the large sword on his back. Soon my mind began screaming that this guy was trouble and I had to get away from him somehow. I soon no longer found that an option when he took a step forward towards me.

"Daisuke Inoa?" he said.

I don't know how the hell he knew my name, but it only made my paranoia grow.

"Who wants to know?" I asked cautiously.

He didn't answer, but instead raised his head. My eyes widened as I noticed that the iris of his right eye was white with a dark slit going through it while the sclera of his eye was completely black. The next thing I knew, his sword moved on its own right at me. I suddenly, felt pain all throughout my body as my world spun around me. I found myself on my back feeling my eyes growing heavy.

"Pleasant dreams," I heard the man say.

And then, my world went black.


	12. Dark Hunter: Chapter 2

**12**

I woke up to the feeling of my face being pressed against cold pavement. I don't know how long I was out, but it must've been awhile since it was dark in wherever I was. Strangely enough, I tried to get up but my arms and legs were stuck together like they were tied up without the rope. Instead I did the best I could to examine my surroundings. Although the lighting was dim, from what I could tell I was in some old warehouse. I figured all of my friends, including Talbain were worried about me disappearing all of a sudden.

"I see that you're awake."

I shifted my body to where the voice came from and spotted the man who I encountered earlier approaching me. Both of his eyes were a normal blue color.

"I apologize for our earlier encounter," he said. "But you see I need you for a while."

I raised an eyebrow at his apology and at the last part.

"What do you need me for?" I asked, a little freaked out.

"It seems that she is drawn to you," the man replied monotonously. "You will definitely lure her here."

I stared at him for a moment unsure of who he was talking about. My eyes widened when the horrifying realization suddenly hit me.

_Morrigan!_

"Ah, it seems that you now know whom I'm talking about," the man said, reading my expression.

"Who the hell are you?" I growled.

"I am the one who hunts the dark," was the answer.

The man merely watched as I struggled to free my arms and legs from their invisible bindings.

"You don't seem to be under her spell," the man said. "You're able to see what she is and yet you still wish to protect her. Why?"

"Because she is my friend," I answered.

The man stared at me emotionless. I didn't know whether he was surprised or angered by my answer.

"…That devil isn't your friend," he said suddenly. "She is only with you because you have something that she wants."

My eyes fell from the man and onto the concrete floor. I admitted to myself that that was the reason why Morrigan came to me at first. I remember her admitting that her first intent was to kill me but then it turned into curiosity. And now having thought about it, I didn't know whether our relationship was friendship or otherwise. I looked up towards the man and noticed that something behind him seemed to catch his eye.

"It seems like she has arrived," he said.

As soon as he said that, I tried to warn Morrigan that she was walking into a trap, but I couldn't get my mouth open. I couldn't even make a sound to give her a hint.

_Damn!_

The man looked down at me as if he knew what I was trying to do.

"I can't allow you to speak otherwise I'll lose the element of surprise," he said calmly. "You can watch and see what kind of _friend_ that creature really is."

I glared at him as he walked away. I soon stared ahead and noticed the large doorway that led into the warehouse and soon enough I saw Morrigan still in her human form cautiously entering the warehouse. She hadn't even bothered to change out of her uniform and so I guessed that she had been looking for me all day.

"Daisuke?" she called out looking around. "Daisuke, are you in here?"

I couldn't understand why she was calling out for me. I was right in front of her and her night vision had never failed before. Why couldn't she see me?

"You came a bit sooner than I expected," I heard the man say.

Morrigan froze. From the expression on her face I took it that she knew who it was. Suddenly the man appeared on top of a large crate in view. Morrigan's eyes widened.

"Donovan!?"

"I'm surprised that you actually came," the man who I now knew as Donovan said. "He must have something very important to you."

Morrigan was startled at first, but then her face hardened.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"He's over there," Donovan replied pointing my direction.

Morrigan looked me right in my eyes but I could tell that she was still unable to see me. I soon learned why.

"A barrier?" she said. "That explains why I can't see him."

"Now you know that what you seek is beyond your reach?" Donovan asked stoically.

Morrigan looked towards the ground and then closed her eyes. To me she seemed like she was in thought. Donovan didn't move either, but observed her as well. For a moment, I thought Morrigan would turn and run and I prayed that she would. I could tell by just looking at this guy that he was much stronger than he was leading us to believe. Suddenly, Morrigan transformed into her succubus form and opened her now violet eyes, focusing them on Donovan. It seemed that my prayers went unanswered.

"So it is so valuable to you, that you will fight to get it back as it seems," Donovan said coolly. "Very well, I wasn't going to let you run away anyway."

Morrigan smirked in response.

"I wasn't planning to."

Suddenly, Donovan's huge sword moved on its own and began whirling towards Morrigan. She raised one of her wings and stopped it just as it was mere inches from her face. However, the force of stopping the sword had pushed her back. It continued to push her back as if it were determined to break through her defenses. Morrigan's remaining wing dispersed and formed a blade around her other arm and swung at the large sword, knocking it away. Her wings returned to her back.

"Soul Fist!" Morrigan yelled out, firing a ball of light towards Donovan.

Donovan didn't move from his place, but instead held up his hand, closed his eyes and seemed to chanting. Suddenly the large Buddha beads that he wore separated and began surrounding him, dispersing the ball of light that Morrigan fired upon impact. Donovan then held out his hand towards her. She seemed confused by the gestured and watched him curiously. However only I noticed the clouds that were forming above her head, which wasn't possible since we were indoors. Only when a hole opened within the clouds did I sense that she was in danger.

_Morrigan above you!_ I mentally yelled, remembering that I couldn't speak.

As if reading my thoughts Morrigan looked above her. Her wings formed jets at her sides pointing in front of her. She jetted backwards just as a giant gray foot stamped on the ground where she was previously standing. I didn't notice it at first, but I saw that the large Buddha beads had separated and zipped around the foot and surrounded Morrigan as she hovered in the air. My eyes widened when she screamed in agony as the beads captured her inside a web of lightning. I watched in horror at her torture and continued to curse my helplessness. Finally after what seemed like forever, the beads released her and she fell limply to the ground before then returning to their owner. I stared at Morrigan's motionless body, fearing the worst. I was soon filled with relief when she let out a soft groan, but it was evident that she didn't have the strength to get up. My eyes widened as I watched Donovan approach her.

"I've been chasing you for a while now," Donovan said, looking down at her. "I can count the number of times that our paths had cross and the number of times you've escaped on one hand."

His sword moved to his hand as he raised it.

"But now, your luck's run out darkstalker."

I felt my heart stop inside my chest. I was about to witness a friend of my mine being killed and was unable to do anything about it. Morrigan shifted her eyes towards me and looked dead at me. That's when I released she could now see me and tried reaching out for me. She stared tiredly.

"Dai…suke…" she murmured.

"DONOVAN STOP!" yelled a familiar voice.

Donovan halted. Morrigan shifted her attention towards the main entrance.

"…Kreutz…?"

I looked up towards the main entrance to confirm what I think she said and sure enough, Talbain trekked into the building wearing an emotionless expression much like Donovan's. He looked towards me.

"Daisuke, Are you alright?"

I stared at him at first, but then managed a nod. Glancing at Morrigan, he turned his full attention onto Donovan who had lowered his sword.

"Jon, why did you stop me?" he asked.

"It's because she isn't the enemy anymore," Talbain simply replied.

"What do you mean?"

Just then, I felt my arms and legs freed the some invisible force and lifted myself from the ground. I cast a glare at Donovan and the thought of socking him in the face crossed my mind, but then decided against it and ran to Morrigan's side. I crouched down and gently sat her up, keeping my hand on her back for support.

"You're okay," I sighed in relief.

Despite her tired expression, she seemed surprised.

"You were…worried about me?" she asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

She gave me a weak, but warm smile.

"I…I'm glad."

Then her smile faded and her breaths were steady. She lost consciousness.

"What is this ARC you speak of?" I heard Donovan say as I caught onto the conversation.

"You know of the strange occurrences of this town right?" Talbain asked. Donovan nodded. "ARC is an organization that wants to make sure that they are not discovered. They've been transforming human beings into darkstalkers."

Donovan's eyes narrowed.

"Impossible!"

"But not far from the truth," I said. "I was attacked by one of their experiments last night."

"Daisuke, I tried finding you tell you that I've found information about their operatives," said Talbain. "I'd give you their identities, but I was only able to find out that there are eight of them."

"Yeah, I know about their agents," I sighed, implying that he was a bit late with this information. "She was the one who attacked me last night and took Lilith captive. You two have heard of Bulleta right?"

It was Donovan whose eyes widened in surprise.

"But she is a dark hunter," he said. He then closed his eyes. "But then, she was always greedy and had a dark heart."

"What happened to her?" Talbain asked.

"Lilith and I were able to beat her," I said bluntly. "Which leaves seven left right?"

"I dunno."

I raised an eyebrow at that answer.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because Bulleta is very difficult to kill," Talbain replied. "Hell, I don't think she'd die even if the world ended."

I grimaced. When that church exploded, I was relieved that I wouldn't ever have to see her again. But now, with Talbain telling me that she may have survived when it seemed impossible made me think of the fact that we may encounter her again.

"It's a shame that you know so much. Now, I can't allow any of you to live."

All three of us turned to see a hooded figure step out from the shadows. Donovan and Talbain seemed more surprised than I had, probably because they were as unaware of the intruder's presence. After study the intruder's features, I realized that it was a woman.

"Who're you?" I asked.

"Honestly, I can't remember," the woman said as she drew back her hood. "But I'm called…Anita."


	13. Dark Hunter: Chapter 3

**13**

I stared at the young woman who had identified herself as Anita. Now that I had actually gotten a good look, I could tell that she was no older than I was. She wore a dark body suit of some kind that seem to cling tightly to her body. I stared at her deep blue eyes, but they had no emotion in them. As a matter of fact, she wore no expression at all. It almost seemed like she was…

"Dead," I muttered.

"What the hell?" I heard Talbain growl. "She's an agent of ARC!"

I could tell by the sound of his voice that he was about to turn into a werewolf. I looked back at him.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Look at her arm."

I looked back to the girl and noticed a red three horned skull on her right arm. Anita brushed her brown locks aside.

"Nothing personal," she said. "But, I have orders to kill you."

"Anita…?"

I looked over towards Donovan, who had called her name. He wore the look of absolute astonishment as he stared at the girl.

"…impossible," he said. "You're…"

I figured that Donovan must've known her from some time ago. I didn't know why he seemed so surprised to see her and I thought that something must've happened. In contrast, Anita looked stoically towards Donovan and didn't seem surprised to see him at all.

"I know you…" she said.

_She doesn't remember him _I mused.

Just then, Donovan was slammed hard into the wall by an invisible force and dropped limply to the ground. He wasn't moving. I looked back to see the Talbain fully transformed into a werewolf.

"It's started," he growled. "Daisuke, you get Morrigan out of here!"

I nodded and figured that whole thing with Donovan was Anita's doing. Since Morrigan was incapacitated at the moment, it was best to get her out of harms way. As I went to approach her, it felt as if I was suddenly grabbed by something and soon realized that I couldn't move.

When I had least expected it, I was sent skidding on my back across the pavement, away from Morrigan. I sat up to see Talbain launch himself at Anita. He suddenly morphed into a comet and sped towards her. Anita didn't seem in anyway unnerved. She stood her ground as she watched Talbain hurl towards her. Suddenly, a large crate moved on its own and plowed into Talbain as if it were a semi truck. Anita watched as the werewolf soared through the air and plowed into a wall. She glanced at Donovan before turning towards Talbain. My eyes widened as Donovan's sword moved from his back and began following her. Talbain's limp body rose from the ground and was pinned against the wall as she stepped in front of the werewolf. Donovan's sword hovered next to her. My eyes widened once I realized her intention.

"SOUL FIST!"

Suddenly, a ball of light struck the sword, sending it whirling across the warehouse. I looked towards the source of where the light came from and saw Morrigan standing wobbly, holding out her arm. At the moment, she didn't look like she would recover if she was hit by another attack. When I notice Anita's attention towards her, I automatically began running towards Morrigan. As I drew closer, I noticed the huge crate behind her beginning to move. I tackled her out of harm's way just as the crate moved forward into another crate that would've crushed her if I hadn't intervened. I looked up to see Buddha beads surrounding Anita and then catching her in their web of lightning. To my surprise, though Talbain fell to the ground, the attack wasn't having any effect on her for she merely looked stoically at Donovan who had sent them.

Instead, the beads made some kind of barrier that must've been surrounding her this whole time appear. Soon the beads dropped to the ground, but the light from the attack stayed and began forming a ball within her barrier. Suddenly, Donovan dove to his left just as she fired a beam of light at him. My eyes widened as the beam obliterated the wall. Anita turned around only to have lunge at her in his comet-like state. She raised her hands to defend from the attack but it pushed her back a couple of feet. Talbain then leapt into the air from her invisible shield and held out his hands, howling as dragons of fire flew towards Anita. I watched as the attack engulfed her into an inferno and held my breath.

_Did that do it?_

Suddenly, the fire parted and Anita walked calmly from the fire…unharmed.

"Damn!" I heard Talbain growl.

Anita focused her attention on him and drew her fist back as if she were going to punch him. I thought that was a little strange seeing how she was a few yards away from him. She was about to attack but then paused when a faint ringing filled the air. To everyone's surprise, Anita casually stood upright and pulled out a cell phone from her pocket. Seeing that she had dropped her guard, Talbain charged at her I noticed Donovan charging at her from behind.

"Yes…?" Anita said into the phone. She didn't seem to care about her two attackers charging her at the moment. "…Are you sure...? …Understood"

By the time she closed the cell phone, Talbain and Donovan were at the point of lunging at her. Suddenly, they were sent flying the opposite direction by an invisible force, both of them slamming hard into a wall.

"Change of plans," Anita said, turning to me. "You are one lucky person, Daisuke Inoa."

It didn't surprise me that she knew my name. It only confirmed that she was from ARC and that she had targeted me from the beginning. Talbain, Morrigan, and Donovan were merely obstacles that needed to be removed. I gulped as she started for me and sighed in relief when she walked passed me and disappeared out the main entrance into the night.

"Daisuke…?"

My eyes widened when I heard the soft voice. I looked down and saw Morrigan staring at me and I couldn't help but stare into her green eyes as she stared into mine. Really, I had forgotten that she was under me and at the moment I didn't care. I was too into the sight. I couldn't help but admit that she was very…

_Beautiful_

"Daisuke," I heard her murmur. She seemed unable to look away from me too. "…you're…crushing me."

"Oh," I said in response. "Sorry."

I pushed myself away from her and sat down. She sat and turned away from me, hugging her legs. The last expression I saw her wearing was one of confusion. I guess I'm not the only one wondering if my emotions were playing tricks on me. I stared at Morrigan. She was still in her succubus form, but the wings on her head and waist had gone. Regardless, she was still something to look at. I soon found myself wondering what she was thinking about. I looked up to see Talbain picking himself off of the ground. He had reverted back to his human self and limped towards me in rags that were once his plum colored dress pants. He raised an eyebrow.

"Are you two okay?"

Morrigan didn't answer, so I did for her.

"Yeah, we're fine," I looked towards the ground. "Who was that girl? You seemed like you knew her."

Talbain looked towards where Donovan supposedly was and muttered something like "Donovan's gone," but I ignored it. He looked back at me.

"Well, as you just witnessed, Anita is a powerful telekinetic." he said. "Donovan looked after her when she was little. Me and a friend of mine use to look after her from time to time. She and Anita were pretty close. But then Anita died at the age of sixteen ten years ago."

"Oh,"

I was contented with that information at first, but then something occurred to me and I stared at Talbain in disbelief.

"Wait a minute! Anita died?!"

Talbain nodded.

"I don't know the details about how she died."

"But…how!?"

"I just said I don't know."

I decided to stop bombarding Talbain with questions so that I could let it all sink in. it was strange though. Talbain and Donovan knew who she was from the start, but she didn't have a clue on who they were and I wondered about that. I wondered even more about her being alive after hearing that she had died ten years ago. Things weren't making much sense at the moment and I decided to talk to Donovan about her if I ever saw him again. But for now, knowing that she was powerful and that she was a part of ARC made me come to only one

conclusion.

_We're in so much trouble._


	14. Swords & Pharoahs: Chapter 1

**It's been awhile wouldn't you agree? Truth is, I finished this chapter a couple days ago, but for some odd reason, has been acting difficult by not posting my documents so I could get this online. Instead, I took one of the documents that I already had on this site and replaced it with this chapter. I've decided to give Daisuke a break on the wholeARC affair, but don't worry, you'll get plenty of that in the future. And now for the troubling part. This chapter(s) is suppose to serve as one of those things that on-going animes seem to have the one thing that most people hate. That's right, this is the dreaded filler(s), but with a purpose. Since summer's almost here I'm gonna be a little extra busy and will have little time to get to this...just kidding. Actually these are (and will be) here so that the story will make more sense later. Well that's all I think, Enjoy.  
**

* * *

**14  
**

I felt the cold November wind hit my face as I got off the bus and joined the rest of my class in front of the building. Today, the entire second year (junior) history class was on a field trip at the Museum of History. Our teacher, Mrs. Annette has been "buzzing" about it since three weeks before the trip. I only had to guess that she was ecstatic after being here now. At the moment, she had us gathered around her so she count and divide us into groups. I had just so happened to glance towards my left and spotted a mint green blur. I turned to get a better look and saw Morrigan with her back facing me, talking with one of her fellow classmates. She must've felt my staring at her for she soon turned towards me and waved. I couldn't help myself but smile and wave back at her. I didn't go and invade her group. Since history was one of those few classes that we didn't share the same period in, I wasn't allowed to, and besides, I liked it better when I didn't have teachers on my back.

"What's going on here?"

The sound of the voice took me by surprise. I turned around to find May Valentine, eyeing me suspiciously. Why are women so good at sneaking up on me?

"Oh, nothing much," I replied. "I think I saw a homeless guy just now."

That last part was a joke, but of course, she didn't see it that way.

"Whatever, look everyone's going inside now." Suddenly, she grabbed my arm and began pulling me inside.

* * *

I was impressed at how the museum looked on the inside. The black marble floor reflected the lights from the ceiling and there were roman styled pillars on both sides of us leading towards the admissions department. Another history teacher went to talk to the lady in admissions while Mrs. Annette turned towards us. 

"Alright everyone, I have here your groups," she said, holding up a piece of paper. "When I call your name, please stand with your group."

She pointed at the floor next to her as she began reading from the piece of paper.

"In Group 1 we have…Brian Singer, Karin Rose, Jin Azuma, Morrigan Aensland, May Valentine, Kazuma Kanzaki, Chad Kazuki, and Daisuke Inoa."

I watched as the students from various history classes joined into one group. I knew most of them, except for Jin Azuma and that Brian Singer guy. I've been told that Jin was an anti-social emo and that was about it. Brian on the other hand had a whole plethora of rumors under his belt, most of them concerning his sexual preferences. The one that I heard the most was that he was a pretty friendly guy, only friendlier towards the male species of my school. He would act like a gentleman to girls simply by shaking their hands, but he would become a friendly guy towards other males. I practically shuddered when I spotted him giving another guy a hug, much to the other guy's discomfort. I made a mental note to be wary of him.

"Fancy meeting you here," I heard a familiar voice say.

Knowing exactly who the voice belonged to, I smiled and turned around to see Morrigan giving me what I had dubbed her 'trademark smirk'.

"Likewise," I replied. "Hopefully, you won't get bored during this tour."

Morrigan gave me a blank look.

"Why do say that?"

"Because you tend to do stuff when you're bored," I replied. "Need I remind you of that trip to the movies?"

Morrigan gave that devilish smile she normally wore when she was challenged. This may not end well.

"How about I remind you of that meeting with the student president?" she asked. "I have plenty of other examples if that one didn't suit your fancy."

_Damn_

"Touché," I said dryly.

Morrigan chuckled.

I've should've known better. Morrigan had a much better memory than I did. I remember hearing about her telling a story from the back of her mind that happened over two hundred years ago. I also heard that it was surprisingly highly accurate. I was amazed that no one had really questioned how she had known everything that far back or how she had known every detail. I guess that was one of the perks of having the unfair advantage of being a few hundred years older. I snapped out of my thoughts when I saw a man approaching our group. He was a tall guy with dark shoulder length hair. Since he was wearing an all black suit, I was afraid that the guy would be a little…dark natured.

"You must be with me," he said smiling. "My name is David Shinuta. I'll be your tour guide. Before we start, I'd like to learn everyone's name." He looked us over briefly before settling his eyes on me.

"How about we start with you," he said, pointing at me.

I narrowed my eyes and grimaced. Being the only one in this entire group, the only one in this entire museum, who has snow white hair, I stuck out more. How pissed I was, it was probably showing up on my face since Dave here was giving me an apologetic look. I sighed.

"My name's Daisuke, Daisuke Inoa."

The man smiled.

* * *

The introductions were speedy enough and we were well on our way. We soon began touring through what seemed like an Egyptian exhibit.

_Pictures of pyramids, hieroglyphs, Sarcophagus'…yep definitely Egyptian_, I mused.

"That sarcoph-o-whatever thingy is huge," May whispered to me.

_Sarcopho-o-whatever thingy_?

I stared at her from the corner of my eye wondering what she was talking about. When I followed her eyes to see what she was looking at, my eyes widened in surprise as I noticed a peculiar sarcophagus. Unlike any of the others, this one was huge, seeming about eight feet tall. David had said something about the exhibit, but I wasn't listening, I soon tuned in just as he asked, "Are there any questions?" and raised my hand.

"Yeah, who's that guy?" I asked, pointing to the large sarcophagus.

David turned around and looked at the Egyptian styled coffin.

"That is the casket of Egypt's greatest pharaoh, Anakaris Ra," he said. "Sworn to protect his kingdom, even in death,"

_What a noble guy_

"Mr. Shinuta, how did he protect his kingdom even though he had already passed on," the other girl in our group, Karin asked.

I eyed David suspiciously as a smirk formed on his face.

"Well, the pharaoh believed that curses weren't efficient enough to carry out his punishments…" he said darkly. "…So he used a more…'supernatural' method."

I didn't like where this is going.

"W-What method was that?" Chad asked, trying not to sound intimidated by David's dark tone.

"…He came back from the grave…" David replied gravely. Everyone in our group with the exception of me, Jin, and Morrigan paled, obviously spooked from the story. I rolled my eyes when David started laughing.

"Of course, you don't believe in something like that," he said.

Just then, everyone except Morrigan, Jin, and me began laughing. Morrigan just smiled. I didn't know what she could be thinking about. Jin was an emo, that was all there was to it and I just didn't think too much of the whole resurrection thing. Actually I would've thought the whole thing to be ridiculous. About a month ago, I thought a chainsaw wielding zombie named Zabel was ridiculous. I learned a lesson that day.

"Hey Mr. Shinuta, why is there samurai armor here," May asked, after the laughter subsided.

That didn't make any sense. Samurai armor in an Egyptian exhibit? I turned around to see what May was looking at, and there in a glass case, was a full set of red samurai armor complete with sword. The breastplate had a sinister face engraved into it making it look a little disturbing.

"That armor once belonged to a demon swordsman," David said sternly.

"Oboro Bishamon."

All eyes fell on Morrigan. She smirked. "He was the one who wore this armor, Hannya, am I right Mr. Shinuta?"

"Y-Yes, that's right," David replied, slightly surprised. "Oboro Bishamon donned this armor and became a ruthless killer, slaughtering everyone in his path."

I Looked towards May who seemed to grow pale from hearing the grim news.

"That…didn't… answer my question," she said.

"Oh well, a battle broke out between the pharaoh and the demon samurai," the dark haired man said. "Both of them battled fiercely."

"I remember that," said Morrigan. I stared at her with eyes wide.

_What the hell is she doing?_

"Oh really?" David's eyes lit up with interest.

"Yes. As a matter of fact I was ther—"

I cut her off by quickly placing my hand over her mouth.

"When I read it from the history book," I finished for her and removed my hand. "Right Morrigan?"

Morrigan smiled and gave me some sort of apologetic look as she scratched the back of her head.

"R-Right,"

"So who won?" Jin asked casually.

David chuckled at how frank he was.

"Actually, it was never recorded," he replied. "Rumor has it that their battle was never concluded."

"Why's that?" asked May. "No one knows why," David replied. "I guess you can say that it's one of those great mysterious."

"People don't just die without a reason," Chad chimed in.

I heard David mutter something like 'I never said they died', but I guess I'm the only one who heard it which made me a little cautious. Thanks to my run-ins with the supernatural, I'd been a little extra cautious of that lately. I'd like to see my eighteenth birthday and hopefully twenty first.

"Let's move on shall we?"

* * *

The tour ended a little sooner than we had hoped. With it only being twelve thirty, that most likely meant that we would be returning to school to catch our afternoon classes. This was our assessment, but Mrs. Annette had other plans. She decided to reveal them to us as soon as we finished our lunches.

"Alright everyone," she called out, quieting our chatter. "Now I have an assignment for you."

All the classes groaned at this. Apparently, the teachers were hell bent in making sure that we learn something on this field trip.

"You each are to partner up and pick out an era or historical event that you were shown and gather as much information as you can before we leave."

As soon as the lady was through talking, everyone immediately began selecting their partners. I turned and started to approach Morrigan and I saw her coming towards me. It was strange how we think somewhat alike. Suddenly, I felt a hand grab my wrist, thus halting my advance. I turned around to see who was stopping me and saw May staring at me with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Eh, May?" I said, staring at her confused.

"Daisuke, I need your help" she said.

May needs my help? I stared at her incredulously as that new bit of information played over in my head.

"You have one of the highest grades in History Class and I'm in trouble."

That was true. Her grade in history compared to mine did pretty much…suck. I looked over towards Morrigan and saw that she was talking with Karin. Judging by the small grin that Morrigan just gave her, I'd say that Karin asked Morrigan to partner up with her and she accepted. I heard May speak again.

"C'mon Daisuke, we're friends aren't we?" she pleaded. Technically yes, seeing how she associated herself with me. I groaned inwardly. "Alright, let's team up," I said, trying to sound nice. May smiled and threw her arms around me, hugging me tightly.

"ThankyouThankyouThankyou,"

"Jeez, you're welcome, now let go!" she was strangling me.

I bent over to catch my breath as soon as she let me go.

"So what should we study?" May asked.

"Well how about we look into Anakaris and Bishamon," I replied, regaining my composure. "I'll look up Bishamon in the Japanese exhibit."

"That's upstairs right?" I nodded. "Well alright, I'll see you in a little bit."

When she turned and walked away, I let out a sigh of relief. Usually, May and I didn't get along, but she seemed to be in unusually high spirits today. Sure it was very weird but I decided not to delve into it and decided to get right into my assignment. Now if only I could remember where the stairway was.


	15. Swords & Pharoahs: Chapter 2

**15**

I don't know exactly how much time I spent looking for that stairway. I no longer cared about it as soon as I found the exhibit, which was kind of cool. The whole thing was designed to replicate how a village in the feudal era would have looked like. The only thing that really seemed out of place was a transparent bookshelf sitting next to one of the houses. That's when I decided to do a little book browsing, to see if there was any information I could use of course. I smirked when I laid eyes on a certain book that was simply titled _Bishamon_. I didn't even think it would be this easy. I decided to "borrow" the book and retire to a bench in the back. I figured I'd go read the contents. It turned out to be the "supposed" story of Oboro Bishamon. It said right in the book that he was a ruthless killer that slaughtered numerous villages and was supposedly a demon. I skimmed over a few pages, right until I caught Anakaris' name and had read on. I read about Bishamon's conquest of Egypt, but for some odd reason that's all I remember reading.

* * *

found myself on a hard floor. I blinked for a moment and noticed a slight grogginess.

_I fell asleep?_

As I got up, I noticed how strangely dark it was and looked around. I saw that I was still in the museum, but why was it so dark? I rubbed my eyes thinking that they were playing tricks on me, but it they weren't. After thinking about it, I grimaced at the only probable possibility.

_The museum…is closed?_

That one shouldn't have been possible. I mean, I had fallen asleep, but no one had bothered to wake me up. Not even the security guards bothered me. I also found it odd that my "partner" didn't come looking for me when it was time to leave. I guessed it was time to go make a phone call towards home, because it definitely seemed like I was the only one here.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!!"

Or not.

I wondered who in the world that could've been. It was a woman's scream and I guessed that I wasn't the only one here after all. I ran assuming that she (or possibly he) was in trouble and needed help, so I didn't have time to guess. I pretty much _glided _down the stairs and ran across the lobby, heading in the direction of the Egypt exhibit. It was then that I noticed that my night vision was a little better than usual. It must've been one of those benefits of my unusual soul. I rounded the corner and hit something…hard, and fell to the ground.

"Ow," a feminine voice in front of me said.

When I opened my eyes, I was very surprised to see a certain red haired girl, rubbing her head.

"May?"

She stopped rubbing her temple and looked up at me with a shared surprise.

"Daisuke? Is that you?"

How could she be unsure that it was me? Am I not in front of her? I stared at her incredulously until it dawned on me.

_She can't see too well in the dark._

"Yeah, it's me," I answered. "What are you doing here?"

"I was ah…" she started, but then trailed off. I watched her curiously as she turned away from me. "Do you promise not to laugh?"

"Uh, sure."

I doubted that sounded believable, but she didn't seem to notice.

"The truth is…"

There was that pause again. Was it really that bad? I braced myself.

"…I fell asleep."

"…….."

_Wha?_

I stared at her blankly. I know I promised not to laugh, but that was just plain ridiculous so I couldn't help but smile. It was purely accidental when a snicker escaped. May turned around and scowled at me.

"You promised you wouldn't laugh!"

"That's not it at all," I said, throwing my hands up in defense. "It's just that it's the same reason I'm still here."

May's eyes widened after hearing that.

"Really? You fell asleep too?"

"Yeah."

Silence, then "You're a dork."

I narrowed my eyes at her.

_You hypocritical little…_

Suddenly, she giggled.

"I'm just kidding," she said. "Besides, that would make me hypocritical wouldn't it?"

"That's what I was thinking," I said, beginning to chuckle, but then suddenly stopped.

_Wait a minute!_

Since when did May have a sense of humor? She always took me so seriously when we were at school. I decided to forget about that when I reminded myself on what caused this unusual encounter in the first place.

"By the way, why'd you scream?" I asked.

She smiled sheepishly.

"When I woke up and saw the lights out, I figured the museum was closed and overreacted."

_Makes sense_

"Well, we should probably try to find a phone, huh Daisuke?"

I nodded. May really surprised me. I had never expected Miss popular here being so level headed in this type of situation. I guess I didn't know her as well as I thought I did.

"Hey, don't you have a cell phone?" I asked.

"Yeah," she answered. "But it's weird."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a dark blue phone. She flipped it open and held it out for me to see. There was nothing but static on the LCD screen, which _was_ kind of weird.

"We can always try a payphone," I suggested.

"But aren't the payphones turned off when the museum is closed?" she asked.

I grimaced.

"Good point," I said. "But I didn't necessarily mean the payphones in here."

"Okay," she said. "But I have to go pay a visit to the ladies room first."

"Sure, I'll be waiting for you by the main entrance."

* * *

"Aw great," I muttered, staring at the large steel doors that covered the entrance way.

I had forgotten that places like this always had these kinds of doors covering every entrance and were electronically locked, making it impossible for me to open. Knowing that May wouldn't take this very well, I grimaced. Suddenly, something just occurred to me that made the situation somewhat strange. Didn't museums have security guards patrolling this time of night? Wasn't there some kind of alarm system installed somewhere? If there was, it should've went off by now, and it didn't seem like there was anyone else in the museum. Truly, the more I thought about it, the weirder it got. Suddenly, a frightening scream yanked me from my thoughts. My eyes widened in panic.

"May..."

* * *

**Well, that's another chapter done. And with everyone trying to guess Daisuke's roots, I must say, Wow. I must really doing well to avoid that subject. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a video project to work on.  
**


	16. Swords & Pharoahs: Chapter 3

**Hello people, Been waiting long? I've been pried from excessive computer use and down to good old fashion pen and paper. Sure getting the chapter done is easy enough. It's just getting it posted that's tricky nowadays. Anyways Enjoy!**

When I heard May scream, my first thought was that maybe she saw a bug or something, since she overreacted about waking up to find herself inside a closed museum. However, that wasn't what my gut was telling me. I found myself running to her aid, hoping that she wasn't hurt or anything. I simply don't want anyone else's pain on my conscience. My running soon slowed to a stop when I noticed a faint blue light glowing from around the corner of the hallway I was in.

_What the hell?_

That wasn't normal at all. I was a little afraid to guess what it could be and part of me wanted to ignore it and head the other direction, but May's scream came from this way. At the moment, it sucked being a caring individual. Ruefully, I decided to go investigate, but carefully advanced to the corner. I couldn't help but hope that it was nothing but some kind of light as I drew closer. Although the prickling sensation in my blood was telling me otherwise. Suddenly, May cried out, causing my anxiety to skyrocket.

"May!"

I forgot cautiousness and ran around the corner and froze. There, standing a few feet in front of me was a strange large man drawing so ever closer to a terrified May who was sitting on the floor. He was wearing that creepy samurai armor from earlier. His pale blue skin automatically told me that this guy wasn't human. I also noted that the blue fireballs hovering over his shoulders were giving off that haunting blue light that drew my attention. He had May trapped with her back against the wall, but I guess my presence drew his attention. I steeled my nerve when he shifted his glowing red eyes onto me. May, being the opportunist that she was, crawled away from the freaky samurai.

_Yeah, get out of here May._

The samurai seemed completely uninterested in her, much to my relief and completely focused on me.

"Have you come to challenge me?"

I stared at him confused. Was he was asking me if I wanted to fight him?

"Er…what?"

"If not then…" he raised his hand and pointed at me. "…Die."

Just then, the two fireballs that were hovering over his head suddenly sped towards me. Automatically, I took off around the corner from where I came to avoid them. To my dismay, when I looked back, the fireballs had rounded the corner and were now chasing me down the hallway.

"CRAP!!!"

Now I had to figure out how to dodge two homing fireballs that were closing in on me. Just then, an idea came to me but I wasn't sure if it would actually work. I saw a door ahead of me and decided that was where I would execute my plan. I stopped at the door and turned around to see it coming and waited. It was close enough for me to feel the heat from it when I jumped to the side to dodge. I looked up from the floor that I was now lying on and saw that the fireball had destroyed the door. I was about to get up, but then something occurred to me.

What happened to the other one?

As if to answer my question, the other blue ball of flame curved around the corner and directly at me. I rolled over to the side and the fireball exploded into the floor. The force of the explosion had sent my back slamming into the wall.

"I'll be feeling that in the morning," I groaned, rubbing my back.

I didn't think too badly of it. After all, it could've been worse. I looked down to the floor at pieces and splintered remains of the door that actually led to a supply closet and grimaced.

_That could've been me._

What was worse was that if I wanted to make sure that May was all right, I would have to go back.

"I hate my life."

* * *

I made a quick detour to the middle ages exhibit and grabbed an antique broadsword from one of the knight's armor before heading back to where I encountered the samurai. Recognizing the hallway, I kept my back against the wall ads and crept closer to the corner. When I peeked around the corner, I wasn't surprised not to find the freaky armored swordsman. I wasn't relieved for this meant that he could've gone after May and I had to find her before he did. When I stepped around, I suddenly began jogging down the hallway for some reason. I guessed that not knowing where the samurai or May was, was beginning to make me a little nervous. My run soon slowed to a walk as I reached the Egyptian exhibit. The first thing that I noticed were the pieces of glass all over the floor after hearing a crunch when I stepped on a piece. I looked around, wondering if there was a broken window someplace. I soon found the source, the remains of a glass case that once housed the armor of Bishamon. With glass all over the hallway, it was pretty evident that no one had broken into the case. From this I had to wonder,

_Did the armor come to life?_

I knew that the idea was pretty farfetched but then again, so were all the other things that happened in my life thus so far. I examined the case a little longer before I would continue my hunt for May. It was then that I noticed something alarming on the case.

_Blood?!_

Whose was this? Was it May's? I figured that it was possible for her to graze it as she was running. It was still pretty fresh.

"I have to find her," I muttered.

I turned away and started down the hallway. After seeing the blood, my mind began conjuring horrible images of what could have happened to her. The logical part of my mind was telling me that she was probably okay and just hiding somewhere. Despite this, I was becoming a nervous wreck. Suddenly, I heard a strange noise and stopped. It wasn't a loud alarming noise, but rather a soft one that I almost wouldn't have noticed. The noise was coming from behind me. When I turned around, I saw a door that I definitely didn't remember being there. I slowly and quietly approached it, seeing a sign that said "Supply Closet" and placed an ear against it. There was shaky breathing on the other side. Obviously, there was someone frightened hiding inside and didn't want to be found. When I knocked on the door, I heard a sudden yelp and pulled away from the door.

"May? Is that you in there?" I asked.

At first, I got no response. In fact, there was nothing but silence until...

"Daisuke...?"

My eyes widened at the sound of my name. I soon felt relief wash over me and smiled.

"Yeah, it's me," I said gently.

Just then, the closet door slowly opened and revealed a very relieved May on the other side. I gave her a small smile and took a step towards her. I blinked in surprise when I found May's arms suddenly around me and her head buried in my chest. I soon began to feel a moist warmness damping my shirt and looked down at the redhead.

_She's crying._

Remembering that I was still holding the broadsword that I had borrowed, I placed my free arm around her to comfort her. I wasn't used to seeing May like this and to be honest, it kind of scared me.

"May, are you hurt anywhere?" I asked, seeing that she had calmed down.

Seeing the blood was still bothering me.

"No," she replied softly.

I began to feel better after hearing her say that, but now that rose a new question.

_Then whose blood did I see on the glass?_

_"_Daisuke?"

May's voice pulled me from my thoughts.

"I was scared..."

That was very apparent, but I didn't blame her.

"...Not just for me, but...for you."

That last part took me by surprise. I really wasn't expecting to hear her say something like that.

"I thought that guy killed you."

I smiled.

"Nope, it would take more than fireballs to get rid of me," I said.

I didn't say that only to be comforting, but as well to be truthful.

"Then, perhaps I should try a new tactic then."

That comment didn't come from May. We both looked to see the pale samurai standing a few feet away from us down the hallway, grinning. I felt May shudder against me and noticed that she was staring at the breastplate. I had to admit, it was rather intimidating with that malicious grin on it.

"May, get behind me," I said in a low tone to her.

She instantly complied and pulled away from me as I turned to face the man. She hid behind me and watched him from over my shoulder.

"It seems that I've made the right decision to leave you alive girl," he said.

I was relieved to know that he absolutely had no interest in May, but that meant...

"You were after me," I said, raising the broadsword.

"Perceptive," the samurai replied. "Now, let's see if your blade is as sharp."

* * *

**Ah, just one step closer to an event that I've been itching for. Now just to figure out how to end this with a bang.**


	17. Swords & Pharoahs: Chapter 4

**OMG finally. I'm installed for another year of my troublesome college life and I finally have the internet connection to post this chapter. Now I just need a way to make it permanent so I can post the next chapter. Enjoy it.**

**17**

"So you were after me," I said, raising the broadsword.

The samurai chuckled.

"I can sense you power lying dormant within you," he replied.

I narrowed my eyes at him. If I understood him correctly, that meant that Morrigan and ARC aren't the only ones who discovered the power that's sleeping deep within my soul.

"Daisuke? What is he talking about?" I heard May whisper into my ear.

I didn't answer her. I didn't care that she was about to learn my most recently discovered secret tonight. That wasn't at all my biggest concern.

"May, I want you to get someplace safe," I said, not looking away from the unnaturally pale man.

"What?!"

Her surprise wasn't unexpected.

"What about you?" she asked, still incredulous.

I looked back at her with a rueful smile.

"It seems that our friend here only wants to play with me," I said. "At least if you run away, he won't come after you."

May shook her head which didn't surprise me. I wished that she hadn't. Now wasn't the time to be stubborn.

"I…I can't do that," she said.

I turned around, facing her and placed my free hand on her shoulder.

"I need you to get to safety." I stared into her green eyes. "I don't want you to get hurt."

May's eyes widened at my comment. I figured that she saw in my eyes that I meant it. I really didn't want her to get hurt. I saw her eyes saddened as she took a step back from me and turned away.

"…Be careful," was what she said before running away. I watched her until she rounded the corner at the end of the corridor. When I turned around, I was surprised to see that the samurai had embedded his sword into the floor and was sitting in a meditative state.

"You are finished?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said with uncertainty. "You were waiting for me?"

"Well, it isn't any fun to attack your opponent from behind."

I gave him a thoughtful look before grimacing at what he had just said.

_Now he's going to chop me into confetti._

I pulled myself from my musings when the swordsman began talking again.

"What is your name, boy?"

"…Daisuke Inoa," I replied with an eyebrow raised. "Why do you ask?"

"I needed to know what I was going to call the new head that I am about to add to my collection."

His statement merited a gulp from me. He readied his sword.

"Now prepare yourself…Daisuke Inoa!"

This was definitely going to be a problem. Sure, I took kendo when I was younger, but only because my dad made me. I was more confident in my skills fighting hand to hand since I did more of that growing up. My swordsmanship skills however were a bit…iffy.

_I…am so…screwed._

The samurai charged at me at such a speed that I barely had any time to raise the sword to defend myself. Our swords locked and I tried desperately hard to push him back, but he wasn't budging. I then noticed that he wasn't pushing me back either. It was perfectly clear that he was stronger. When I saw that he was grinning something suddenly dawned on me.

_He just toying with me_

The revelation pissed me off to no end and I focused that anger to my strength. The samurai must've noticed it for he jumped away from me, causing me to slam my blade onto the ground. I quickly went after him, bringing my sword up into a horizontal swing. He suddenly, vanished.

_What the—_

Something in my head screamed "above". I looked up to see the samurai in the air, coming down with his sword pointing downward. I rolled to the side just as his sword slammed into the floor where I was just standing. At least he didn't get me.

"He didn't exactly miss me either," I grumbled, wiping the blood from the newly formed cut on my face.

The samurai grinned at me.

"Don't tell me you are finished," he sneered.

I charged at the samurai, bring my sword upward into a vertical swing. He merely sidestepped the attack then deflected my sword. I stumbled backwards to avoid a quick swing he gave that made me realize just how screwed I really was.

_Doesn't meant that I can't still put up a fight._

I was planning my next form of attack, when I began lowering my sword in fatigue and I found myself breathing heavily.

_What's going on?_

I started replaying the fight so far. For being so rusty, I thought I wasn't doing so bad. However, remembering that blurring counter he gave me in return made me rethink that. I was lucky to evade that. That counter might of been the one to do me in. It was evident enough that I wasn't going to beat him.

"What is wrong? Are we tired?"

I glared at the samurai, unable to respond. He chuckled.

"Well, if you won't come to me..."

He raised his sword.

"I will come to you."

My eyes widened at the speed that he moved towards me and quickly raised the broadsword to block the attack. He followed up with another series of strikes making it more difficult for me to recover from each one. I was sure that he noticed. I grimaced.

_This sword's too heavy_ I thought. _At this rate I'll--_

I didn't have to finish that thought. My fears came true when the samurai struck and shattered my defense. He quickly followed up by sending his palm into my chest and sent me flying and causing me to lose grip of my sword. I heard the wall crack when I slammed into it and slid to the ground. I sat against the wall wheezing and coughing. It felt as if my ribcage caved in and wrapped around my lungs for a brief moment. Soon, the feeling began to pass and I was able to breathe normally again. I was regaining my composure--

--When a sharp pain rang throughout my left shoulder. I yelled out in agony as I turned my head to see what had caused it. The samurai had lodged his blade into my shoulder. I glared up at him as he grinned at me in return.

"Have you figured it out yet?" he asked. "Why you cannot defeat me?"

I winced as he pulled his sword from my shoulder. Jeez, it hurt more coming out than it did going in. I glared up at him as I clutched my shoulder.

"It is because you're... too... slow," he sneered. "Any last words?"

I said nothing. I watched as he raised his sword.

"Very well then. Farewell, Daisuke Inoa."

I stared wide-eyed at his sword before lowering my head and closing my eyes. I clenched my fist. Looks like I won't be cheating death this time.

_May, I'm sorry..._

"_GAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHH!!"_

"Huh?"

My eyes shot open. Wasn't that my line? I temporarily forgot the pain in my shoulder and looked up to see the samurai drop his blade.

"No, this is my body now!" he screamed. "You're supposed to sleep!"

He grabbed his head and began yelling in agony again. I merely stared in amazement. I had no idea of what to make of this twist in events. It looked like he was having some kind of inner struggle. To my surprise, the samurai was beginning to look familiar.

_Shinuta?_

The samurai then fell to his knees and looked up at me. Sure enough, I was staring into the face of David Shinuta, the tour guide from earlier. I always figured that he was a bit dark and demented deep down, but this was nuts. He still appeared to be struggling.

"Daiiiisukeeeeeeeeeee..." he breathed. "Awake...pharaoh..."

I tried to understand what was going on here.

"David, what're you trying to tell me?"

"Awake...pharaoh..." he repeated. "Use...my...blood..."

That's when I lost him. He then stood up and started screaming again. I guessed that he was trying to restrain himself from attacking me again. I stood there, absentmindedly watching as I tried to comprehend the message that David gave me.When he told me to use his blood, I realized that it was his blood that was on the glass casing. However I couldn't figure out the other part of his message. What exactly did he mean 'awake pharaoh'? Who was the pharaoh? I began thinking about it when I remembered something from earlier. During the tour, David had referred to the mummy as the pharaoh. Was he telling me to awaken Anakaris Ra?

_Only one way to find out._

Holding my shoulder, I ran passed the screaming samurai to the shattered case. I was careful not to cut myself and mix my blood with David's and broke off the piece that I needed and looked around, with my eyes widened with realization.

_Where the hell's the mummy?!_

I figured that David here must have had it moved somewhere, but where? I would've asked Dave here, but his screams of bloody murder told me that he was way too far gone for conversation and that there wasn't much time before he became evil again.

"Shit!"

* * *

I ran down the hallway, trying to get some distance between us. I needed to figure out where had stashed the mummy while wondering at the same time why the hell he'd moved it in the first place. My run had soon brought me to the main lobby. The main entrance was still locked down, so that still wasn't an option.

_Can't blame a guy for hoping._

I began looking around frantically. Ah hell, there were so many places where that sarcophagus could be and I hadn't a clue of where to look. It looked like I was still screwed after all.

"Daisuke?!"

I spun around to see May running towards me, to my surprise. I thought she was hiding.

"Are you alright?" she asked, placing a hand on my injured shoulder.

She felt me wince and quickly pulled her hand away. I could see the fear on her face when she noticed that her hand was covered with my blood.

"Oh my God, you're hurt."

"I'll live," I said. "Listen, we have to find Anakaris."

"The mummy?" she sounded incredulous. "What fo--"

"David moved him. Look, there's no time to explain. If we don't find that mummy, then we're SOL."

I started for the corridor behind her. However I didn't get too far.

"Daisuke, follow me," May said, running in the other direction. "I know where it is."

* * *

May had taken me to a huge room down in some kind of basement area that had all sorts of stuff that I didn't see upstairs. Most of it was rare and probably worth millions of dollars. May led me to the sarcophagus of Anakaris Ra. At the moment, I wanted to kiss her, but...

"May, how did you know that it was here?" I asked her.

"It was by chance really," she replied. "I was going to hide in one of the closets at first, but then I found this place."

"So you wandered down here, huh?"

May's apologetic smile answered that question.

"It's okay," I said, walking towards the coffin.

I stared down at the shard of glass that I still held in my hand. The blood was still fresh, but was beginning to show signs of coagulation If I wanted to wake the dead, then I'd better do it now. I began to examine the sarcophagus and realized that it was more advanced than it should've been. There was a strange mechanism on the side.

_I guess this is where it goes._

I rubbed the blood onto the mechanism while thinking that this was far too advanced technology for something a couple millenniums old. I watched as it began to twist and turned--and nothing happened.

"What the hell?!"

"What's wrong?" asked May.

"Everything," was my answer. Why wasn't this working? The sarcophagus should've been opening and the mummy should've come shambling out. Just then, May gasped. I turned around to see some kind another man donned in samurai armor shambling towards us. He was as pale as the other man except, his face was more skeletal. There were very few strands of hair jutting from his head. There were dark holes in where his eyes should have been.

_This guy's dead_ my mind was telling me. Seeing him kind of reminded me of Zabel Zarock, but at least this one didn't talk with an annoying accent and tried to kill me with a chainsaw. At least this guy didn't seem to have the motor skills to try that anyways. However, it turned out he did have some sort of motor skills when he drew his sword. He then suddenly, charged at us with his sword raised.

"May move!!" I yelled.

Instantly, she and I split up as the ghoulish samurai brought his sword down into a vertical slash at where we were just standing. To my dismay, it ignored me and started towards May. If range wasn't an issue, I would've fought the ghoul with my bare hands. I had decided to search for a weapon. Luckily for me, I spotted another Japanese sword, sitting undisturbed inside its sheath until I yanked it out. It felt very light in my hands and mentally berated myself that I should've tried fighting with this sword to begin with.

"Daisuke!!" May cried out as the ghoul drew closer towards her.

I moved swiftly towards it from behind and brought my sword up into a sideways swing--

--only to have it blocked. It turned out this zombified samurai was more capable than I had thought, but not as strong. When our swords locked, I felt my shoulder throbbing with pain and retreated just as the ghoul swung his sword in attempt to wound me. I stood there glaring, with my sword raised. My shoulder was screaming and I was tired. I was certain that I would pass out from the blood loss soon. The zombie samurai readied his sword, preparing an attack. A scenario played in my mind. The undead would lunge at me and attack with a vertical swing.

"Daisuke!!"

May shouted my name, snapping me out of my trance. I blinked, realizing that the zombie had lunged at me and attacked in exactly the way I had predicted as I blocked its sword. As our blades locked, I began to feel the pain in my shoulder amplify and my strength drain. I closed my eyes as I felt its blade inch closer and closer towards my face.

_No! I can't die here!_

I refused to die here. If I were to meet my maker, then May would surely follow and I couldn't let that happen. With this in mind, I felt my strength returning and a familiar burning pain in my right arm. I opened my eyes and glared into the sockets where the zombie's eyes should have been. When began to push back, the strangest thing happened. My sword sliced right through the undead's blade and through the undead itself. I watched incredulous as the samurai collapsed into ash.

_What just happened?_

For a second, the burning in my arm intensified, causing me to drop my sword. Why was it happening now after being dormant for a while? My arm now seemed to hurt more than it had before. What was going on?

"Daisuke!"

I turned around and found myself in an embrace. I looked down at the red-head as she looked at me.

"You did it," she said with a relieved smile.

I returned her smile, glad to see that she was unharmed. We were both suddenly startled by an eerie chuckling and looked to see the eerie samurai from earlier approaching us.

"Yes you did it," he said. "I can feel it growing strongly within you."

"May, get back," I deadpanned.

She immediately complied. I was dead tired, but I found the strength to keep fighting. The samurai grinned at me.

"Are you going to use it?"

"Wanna find out?!" I yelled as I suddenly charged him.

Fighting with my hands was my best bet if I wanted to even stand a chance against this guy who was once a tour guide. To my dismay, he caught me by surprise by simply throwing a blue fireball at me. Before I realized it, it was already too late for me to react. I was expecting to burn from the impact of the fiery sphere, but instead I was engulfed inside a blue flame. I felt myself weakening and fell to my knees. The samurai that was once David Shinuta laughed.

"I look forward to our duel," he said. "But first I must remove all distractions."

_Distractions?_

What was he talking about? What could be a distraction? My eyes widened in realization as I watched him approach the sarcophagus.

_Shit! May!_

"You better not touch her!" I yelled, before collapsing.

Funny, I was now floored and unable to get up and yet I was still making threats. I looked back and saw that May was cornered and had no place to run to. I could hear him chuckling.

"Not to worry, girl," he said. "I'll make it quick and painless."

So this was it. May was about to die and I couldn't do a damn thing about it. I cursed myself for failing to protect a friend.

"**YOU SHALL NOT SPILL ANYMORE INNOCENT BLOOD, VILLAN!!!**"

I blinked in surprise. Who the hell said that? The voice was booming, and it kind of made my ears ring. Suddenly a fierce sandstorm blew in somehow. I placed my hands on my head and closed my eyes, but I began thinking about May. What happened to her? I cracked open an eye and saw the samurai soaring through the air before crashing into the ground a few feet in front of me. He wasn't moving. As fast as it came, the sandstorm dissipated. The flame barrier around me disappeared along with the sandstorm. Lifted myself from the ground and looked back to see a cyclone of sand spinning in front of May. To our surprise, the sand took form and solidified--

--into an eight foot tall mummy. He was wearing jewelry such as bangles and bracelets on his wrists and ankles. I sort of winced at the mummy's face, seeing that it was the only thing on its body that wasn't wrapped in bandages. His skin was a deathly gray. He even wore the headdress and a fake golden beard. I was told that this mummy was our only chance of survival, but I wasn't exactly sure that he was on our side.

"Anakaris...Ra," I muttered.

I shuddered when I saw him look towards me.

"**Daisuke Inoa."**

I tensed.

_Holy hell! He Knows my name!!_

"**Come before me."**

The mummy's tone of voice was still commanding, but it was as loud as it was before. I began to approach the mummy. I didn't think it would be a good idea not to do what he says. I stared up at him trying to hide my nervousness from him as he narrowed his eyes at me. I was a little intimidated by the height he had over me.

"**I have seen your deeds Inoa." **he said. **"You fought against evil to protect those who are close to you. You are a noble soul indeed."**

Suddenly, I could feel my nervousness vanishing. I wasn't expecting this.

_I think he likes me_

I looked over to the downed form of the samurai over on the other side of the room.

"Is he dead?" I asked.

"**He is not,"** he replied. **"He is my foolish servant Malek."**

I stared at him quizzically. This guy, David is Anakaris' servant?

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"**Malek cast a powerful hypnosis once he had discovered Aensland's presence. It was merely by chance that you had fallen asleep, thus were not affected."**

That explained why Morrigan was nowhere around or anyone had bothered to wake us when they had left. Anakaris continued.

"**He tried to seal Hannya without my assistance. In consequence, he has become the vessel of the soul of Oboro Bishamon."**

"So that's why David had attacked us," I said out loud.

"**I wish to apologize for my servant's foolishness. He has caused you so much trouble."**

"Hey, he's getting up!" May piped up.

Anakaris and I looked over and sure enough, Bishamon was lifting himself from the ground.

"Damn you, pharaoh." he groaned.

I quickly entered a stance, ready to fight again only to have Anakaris step in front of me.

"**You may rest easy,"** he said. **"I will end this myself."**

I sighed inwardly in relief. Bishamon was tough to fight against and I wasn't sure if I had the strength to manage it.

"**Inoa, you and your companion must leave."**

I looked up at the mummy questioningly.

"**I will submerge this place and seal Hannya there. This place, this museum will disappear from the memories of men."**

My eye twitched. Did he just say that he was going to bury this place?

_Oh crap!!_

"Well then, May you heard him," I said, grabbing the red haired girl by her hand.


	18. Swords & Pharoahs: Chapter 5

**This serves as the epilogue chapter for the whole Bishamon/Anakaris saga. There's also something strange in here. Something that clashes with my nature. Aw what the hell, who cares? I write this for my enjoyment as you read it for yours. Enjoy!!**

**18**

Well things had definitely turned worse. We were able to reawaken the pharaoh Anakaris Ra. He was going to bury this museum and if we weren't out before he did so then we were six feet under...literally. Now, the problem was getting out. Somehow during our escape, the corridors began to look very different and we had somehow gotten lost. When I thought that was bad, I knew that it could only get worse. I was running down the hallway with the red-haired girl in tow--

--when the entire museum lurched, throwing us off our feet.I quickly began to get back onto my feet.

_That can't be good._

"What was that?" May asked, lifting herself from the floor.

"It's started," I said, extending my hand to help her up. "C'mon, we don't have much time."

It was around that time when I began hearing a strange hissing noise. I grimaced.

_Please don't tell me that we're about to be chased by a giant snake._

"Daisuke!!"

May sounded a bit frantic that time. I looked at her to see her staring behind us in horror. I looked back to see and stared passively.

_Oh, it's just a rapid river of sand flooding towards us._

"FUCK!!!" I yelled as I took off forward. "Don't look back!"

Strangely enough, navigating through the dark corridors became much simpler and we were back in the main hall in a mere matter of seconds.

_Nothing like a rushing river of sand to really get your legs moving. _

"Daisuke, there's the exit!"

I looked on in surprise to see the main entrance and the doors wide open. By now, the sand was on our heels so I began to put forth more energy into my legs, and there wasn't a doubt in my mind that May was doing the same. What happened next was just a blur. We found ourselves diving through the doors and crashing painfully onto the asphalt as the river of sand exploded behind us. Panting like we had just ran a marathon three or four times, we watched as the Museum sank and disappeared into the swirling sand around it. Just then, I found myself speaking.

"A...bit...daring...for a...trip...to...the museum, you think?" I said in between breaths.

May stared at me for a moment. Suddenly, she began to laugh...hysterically. I didn't think my comment was that funny, but for some odd reason, I began to laugh too. We laughed, realizing how lucky we were. And truthfully, that was a bit much for an ordinary field trip to the museum. Then again, when was the last time that my life was so ordinary?

* * *

After reeling from the night's events, May and I made our way to a nearby pay phone where I decided to give Talbain a call. Over the months, he had become something like a mentor to me and was indeed a good friend. He had some questions about the field trip and what happened to the students afterward seeing that they didn't return to the school, but he told me that I shouldn't worry about it. I told him that I would explain as soon as he came and picked us up. He was no doubt surprised to know that May was with me, but said that he was on his way.

After the conversation, we sat down on a bench at the corner of the street, where May was treating some of my wounds with the pocket first aid kit that she was carrying.

"You're a very brave person Daisuke," she said, stitching up the deep cut in my shoulder. I winced.

"Be still," she hissed.

_I'll try_. I thought.

She called me brave. Actually, I had to disagree with her. I would call it, 'a coward who protects his friends' or well, something like that. I remembered that Bishamon had mentioned some things about my dormant powers while May was present. At first, I thought I was going to have to explain what he was talking about, but May didn't seem interested.

"All done," she said, placing the final bandage over my wounds.

"Thanks a lot, May," I said, putting on my uniform shirt back on.

She nodded in response and turned away. Silence then fell between us. This girl was totally different from the one I usually met in school. I've never seen this side of May before and wished that I could see it more often. She seemed happy, sitting here and looking up at the sky. I raised an eyebrow when I saw a small smile appear on her face and wondered what she could possibly be thinking about.

"Hey, Daisuke?" she said suddenly.

I had a feeling that I was about to find out what was on her mind?

"Do you remember when Jun told you that I had a crush on you?"

Where the hell was this coming from? I figured that things like that weren't just for normal conversation.

"You were pretty mad when you found out," I replied.

She chuckled.

"That's right. I yelled at her and almost ended our friendship."

"Yeah, and then you argued with me for 'letting her tell me' or some weird reason like that."

I sighed.

"Junior high..."

May giggled.

"Not only that, when we saw each other again last year, we argued some more," she said.

"We still do," I replied.

"I suppose you're right."

I sensed something strange in her tone of voice. It sort of sounded as if she was in distress, except that it was more subtle than that. I looked over to her, from where I was looking, she seemed as if she were about to cry.

"May?"

"...I realized that when I saw you again, I was happy," she said. "Happy that you hadn't changed."

I stared at her, listening. For some odd reason, my chest clenched with guilt.

_What is she saying?_

"Everything that happened tonight made me realize something," she said. "It made me realize, how important..."

She trailed off. She looked downward, as if having some kind of internal struggle. She looked at me with a warm smile.

"...How important...you are to me. I realized I've..."

She didn't need to finish. I already figured out what she was about to say to me. It wasn't just a mere crush that she had on me in junior high. Suddenly, things began to make sense. May had always been a nice girl. I was just too blind to see it before. It also explained the guilt that I was feeling.

_I don't feel the same way_

May looked away from me and began staring downcast at the ground.

"It's okay, you know," she said, as if reading my mind. "I've seen it in your eyes."

She smiled at me again, only this time somewhat sad.

"...You like someone else..."

I stared at her, somewhat shocked to hear that from her. Was it so obvious to someone else while I was so oblivious to it? I was even more surprised to see her sad smile suddenly turn into her devious smirk.

"That doesn't meant that I'm going to give up," she said.

When she said that, my guilt suddenly vanished. I sighed, giving her a rueful smile. She seemed like that she was her old self again. But now, I felt kind of strange, now knowing how she felt towards me.

I had asked May if she was going to put the events that happened tonight in tomorrow's school gossip newspaper. She replied:

"_Something like that shouldn't go into a gossip paper anyway. Explaining wouldn't do any good since no one would believe me."_

That made sense. How in the hell could she explain that we were at a museum at night, which no longer exists, trying to survive the assault of a bloodthirsty samurai and reawakening a mummy that was our only salvation? It made my first encounter with Morrigan sound more believable. Speaking of which...

_No doubt, she's worried about me_ I thought.

Talbain pulled up a few minutes afterwards.

"What happened to you?" he asked as we got into the car.

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you," said May.

Talbain looked towards me from the corner of his eye. I simply nodded.

"Okay," Talbain said, looking away.

* * *

We stopped in front of May's house first after what seemed like hours of riding in Jon's car.

"Thanks for the ride, Mr. Talbain," May said, getting out of the car.

"Don't worry about it," Jon replied. "I'll see you tomorrow in class tomorrow."

May looked towards me.

"See you later, Daisuke," she said, softly.

"Yeah," I replied.

I watched her until she disappeared into her house. I figured that her parents weren't going to be so happy with their daughter coming home so late. That's when I noticed Talbain staring at me with an eyebrow raised.

"What?"

"Nothing," he said, shrugging. "I was just wondering what that was all about. Did something go on between you two?"

It was my turn to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Why would you say that?" I asked, unwavering.

Talbain seemed taken back by my steady response.

"She's looking at you differently," he replied.

Suddenly, I began feeling depressed. I was still shocked about May's confession and felt guilty. Her heart must've been broken.

"...No, nothing happened."

I gazed stoically out the window, not really thinking about anything. Talbain must've been surprised at how calm I was. I felt his gaze shift from me. I guessed that he decided to let it go.

I told him about everything that had happened in the museum as we drew closer towards my home. He told me that he had a run in with both Bishamon and Anakaris. Talbain wasn't on friendly terms with either of the two. I chuckled when he told me that his encounter with Anakaris literally left a bad taste in his mouth. Before I realized it, we were outside of my house.

"Looks like I'll have some explaining to do to my dad," I said, getting out of the car.

"I wouldn't worry about that," Jon said, a smirk forming on his face. "He oddly got the impression that you went off with your friend Rikku."

"Oh," I said surprised. I had caught on to his statement."Uh, thanks."

"No problem," he replied. "And good news, it turns out that all the students went straight home from the museum."

"That's a relief," I said.

"What did I tell you?" Talbain asked. "Nothing to worry about. Take care, Daisuke."

I nodded and gave him a small smile as I stepped out of the car and started for my house.

* * *

I wasn't too surprised to see my dad when I first stepped into my house. He was glaring at me with his arms crossed. Was he angry at me for supposedly hanging out with Rikku? Before I could ask, he spoke first.

"Did you do something to upset Morrigan?" he asked.

I stared at him confused.

"Um, no" I replied with uncertainty. "What made you think that?"

"Maybe it was distant look that she had in her eye when she came home earlier," Lilith said, walking up and standing next to my father.

I figured that it was probably the effects of the hypnosis. I was somewhat relieved to be able to inwardly rule that out. Right now, I needed to get my pissed off father out of my face.

"Look, if it'll make you feel better then I'll talked to her," I said.

For a second, I was taken back when my father's glare intensified for a second. He snorted then walked away. I shrugged.

_Whatever._

It was then that Lilith stepped towards me.

"Daisuke, what's really up with Morrigan?" she asked me in a low voice. "I know she isn't upset otherwise I would have sensed it."

"That's good to know," I said, knowing that wasn't the case. "But what exactly did Morrigan do?"

"She merely went upstairs and been there ever since."

I looked upward. Actually, that was a bit out of character for her. Morrigan is very social and seldom spends her free time alone. Not that she's afraid of being alone, just that being alone bores her. For her to be in her room since she came home definitely meant that something was off.

"I'll go talk to her," I said. "I'm sure it's nothing."

Lilith stared at me for a moment before saying "okay" and then going off to find my dad. I began to notice that those two had gotten a lot closer lately and wondered what they were doing. However, I kind of wanted to check on Morrigan. I could always check on them later.

* * *

"Morrigan?" I called called out as I knocked on her door. "Hey are you in there? I wanna talk to you."

No response. There wasn't any movement behind the door whatsoever.

_Is she asleep?_ I wondered.

She's usually a light sleeper and would have noticed me coming to her door usually because of her sixth sense of sensing my soul. I was beginning to think that she might not be in there. I turned the knob and gently pushed the door open. The room was dark, but I was still able to make out her still form lying on her bed. She was fast asleep. She must've been sleep since she got home. She was still wearing her school uniform. Watching her sleep, I couldn't help but smile. She looked so peaceful sleeping there.

_I guess I'll talk to her tomorrow._

I had turned to leave...

"Daisuke...?"

I stopped. She sounded groggy. I turned around to see her sitting up and staring at me.

"When...did you get home?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Only a few minutes ago," I replied. "Uh...did I wake you?"

She shook her head. I noticed a concerned look entered her eye.

"What happen to you?"

I guessed that she noticed my bandages. I soon found myself wondering whether or not I should tell her about the museum. I doubt she would remember any of it though.

"I got cut by a piece of glass."

I lied. I decided not to tell her about tonight. I didn't want to worry her. Stress is a killer, no matter what race. I saw Morrigan let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad that you're not seriously hurt," she said.

Her statement caught me by surprise. It felt good to know that she was worried about my wellbeing but what made her said that in the first place? I was about to ask, but she started speaking again.

"I had a dream," she said. "You were attacked by something, something that I couldn't see."

Her eyes saddened. She looked as if she was about to cry.

"You died, Daisuke. I couldn't help you."

I felt my chest clench at her words. Suddenly, I found myself walking towards her and sitting on the edge of her bed. I wasn't surprised to find her arms around me. I wrapped my arms around her to return the embrace.

"Daisuke, please...don't die..." she murmured.

"...I won't," I whispered.

* * *

**I don't know where the hell that came from and neither do I care. However, what I do care about is that now I can begin a new saga that some of you've been waiting for. I would know, because I've been itchin' to start on it too. Until next time...**


	19. Demon Castle: Chapter 1

**19**

_This'll be interesting _I thought, putting another set of clothes into my knapsack.

It was the beginning of the spring quarter and Talbain had announced that the entire science division had agreed to his proposal of having a camping trip. There were mixed reactions among the classes and the majority was kind of excited to go. Jon said that the trip was for biology studying purposes, but I knew deep down that he just wanted to give us and himself a break from the school.

"Hey Daisuke, hurry up or you'll be late!"

That was my dad. Funny, now that I think about it, I hadn't called him that since I was nine. Ever since I had turned ten, it's either been geezer, old man, old bastard, and/or occasionally old fart. That probably came from all those times from those past rumbles with each other. Nowadays, it's just old man or the popular and proper way to address someone, that three letter word ingeniously known as 'hey'.

I chuckled as I finished stuffing the essentials into my bag.

I was halfway down the stairs when I spotted Morrigan by the front door, bent over digging around in her bag on the floor. She was wearing a beige vest and a matching pair of shorts. I realized that my descent down the stairs had slowed to a halt when I found myself watching her.

I think she was doing that on purpose.

"Do you like what you see?" she asked suddenly.

She didn't even pause to look at me. She just knew I was there. I smiled.

"Actually, I'm surprised," I said, resuming down the stairs. "I just wasn't expecting you to actually dress for this."

Morrigan stopped going through her back then crouched down and returned my smile.

"I'm always dressed," she said. She winked. "Whatever the occasion."

I quirked an eyebrow.

_What the hell is that suppose to mean?_

Her little gesture made her normal statement seem odd. I was about to ask her about it when my dad approached.

"So are you two love birds ready to go?" he asked.

I scowled at him. His question irked me for obvious reasons, but I held my tongue and nodded.

"Good," he said. "Now remember, no monkey business."

"Dammit! Stop saying that!" I snapped.

* * *

Morrigan had pulled me out of the argument with my dad and all the way to school. When we arrived, many of the students were waiting outside with a few school buses parked nearby. I spotted our friends outside the crowd, talking with the newest addition to our group, May. It still felt a little weird being around her since that incident at the museum. 

_She also said that she wouldn't give up_ I mentally reminded myself.

I was comforted a little when she acted no different (though a little nicer) around me and that things were pretty much normal between us. I snapped myself from out of my thoughts when Jun began waving at us. May eyed us suspiciously and smirked as we approached.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said, throwing her arms up in defense. "I was just thinking how strange it was that you two are always together when you come to school."

"Yeah, now that you mentioned it, it is strange," said Jun.

_Shit!!_

I chuckled nervously at my predicament. May had aroused the suspicions of Jun and Riku. I knew that I couldn't say that Morrigan was living with me. It would crush May and Riku would just lose it. Jun though, I wasn't so sure. She didn't seem like she would mind it so much. But I had to say something or…

"Daisuke lives just down the street from me."

All of us looked at Morrigan, surprised that it was she who spoke.

"His dad wanted me to try a few of his new dishes, but then Daisuke got into a fight with him and it took us longer than I had thought."

I sighed inwardly in relief. That story seemed to satisfy them. My dad had tried to get them all to taste a new recipe at least once, so it was plausible.

"Mr. Inoa and Miss Aensland, I almost didn't think you two would show up."

The new voice had caught us all off guard and we turned to see Talbain approaching out group. I smirked at his earlier statement.

"Wow, you sounded like an actual teacher that time," I sneered.

Talbain let out a sarcastic fake laugh in response. It looked like he didn't find my joke very funny.

"So which bus are we riding Mr. Talbain?" Jun asked.

I noticed that Jun was eyeing the clipboard that he was carrying. Talbain put on a smile.

"Ah, a student who gives me proper respect," he said, casting a glance towards me. I thought about giving him a rude gesture but decided against it. He flipped a page on the clipboard.

"You guys are on bus 43," he said. "That's interesting."

"Why do you say that?" asked Riku.

"Because the selection was done randomly."

That was interesting. It was definitely pure chance that all five of us would be on the same exact bus. Especially randomly. It was then that my so called friends decided to secretly choose their partners to sit with on the the trip behind my back. May decided to sit with Jun while Riku pretty much cornered Morrigan. She gave me an apologetic look as she boarded the bus and I gave her a look that pretty much said 'don't worry about it'. I found myself in a seat by myself...for once. Absently, I looked back at Morrigan. Even though she was talking with Riku, she glanced at me as if sensing that I was staring at her. I noticed that we've been spending a lot of time apart lately and I'm sure that she did too. I thought it was kind of silly to realize something like that...I wasn't jealous or anything like that.

_Am I?_

Before the thought could haunt me any longer, Talbain plopped down right next to me. For some odd reason, he looked annoyed.

"I'm sitting here," he deadpanned, folding his arms.

I stared at him blankly.

_I can see that._

I had no objection to that. Really though, it wasn't like he was leaving any room to negotiate the matter anyway. Truthfully, he looked somewhat strange.

"It may not be any of my business," I started. "But it looks like you're avoiding someone."

"Is that so?" he asked.

Immediately, after he said that, Mrs. Williams, another science teacher who was coming along with us, approached our seat.

"There you are," she said. "So you decided to sit with one of your students, huh?"

Talbain put on a smile and scratched his head.

"Yeah," he said, before grabbing me into a headlock. "I feel that I need to watch this knucklehead."

I scowled.

_Damn you! Don't bring me into this!_

Mrs. Williams smiled.

"I was kind of hoping that we could sit together and discuss some of the activities that the students'll be doing once we get there."

Talbain then looked apologetic.

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. We'll talk later"

As soon as she left, Talbain let out a sigh and seemed to revert back to his grumpy mood from earlier. I watched as the brown haired woman made her way towards the back of the bus. To be honest, I kind of felt sorry for her. She was one of the new teachers, probably younger than twenty-five. I looked at the silver haired man next to me after it dawned on me.

"She likes you, you know?" I asked.

"Don't remind me," he growled.

I scowled.

"That's a little mean, don't you think?"

"I don't want to get her involved in the kind of life that I have."

When he said that, I knew that he was referring to his alter ego. It reminded me of some of my strange predicament. It may sound a little mean, but I really, _really _hope that I don't turn into something equivalent to my biology teacher. I looked down to the ground.

"My arm's been acting up more than usual," I said quietly.

Talbain looked at me.

"You're not afraid are you?" he asked.

I stared at him, surprised that he was able to pick up on my nervousness.

"Weren't you?" I asked. "I mean when you found out about your..."

He shook his head.

"Not really. But I did kind of loathe myself."

I nodded in understanding. I couldn't really imagine Talbain welcoming himself with open arms after finding out that he was killing machine. He continued.

"I learned something important back then. I've turned what I believe to be my greatest curse into my greatest strength and now I can use it to protect those that I care about."

He placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I know you can too," he said. "You and I are a lot alike."

I cringed.

"Um, I'm not gonna get all furry and wolf-like am I?" I asked, feinting concern.

Talbain smirked.

"Very funny."

* * *

**The good news is...two more story arcs and this book is done with and I'll finally reveal Daisuke's origins later in the story. But you're gonna have to wait...Till we meet again!**


	20. Demon Castle: Chapter 2

**Sorry about the long hiatus that I was on, so as an early x-mas present I decided to grace you with two chapters instead of one. Enjoy!**

**20**

It was around late noon by the time we got to the campgrounds that Jon was talking about. Funny enough, I don't recall ever going on field trips that took three hours to get to. I guess that's why we were going to be here for about a week. Talbain had disappeared someplace and Mrs. Williams had come to me looking for him.

"I hardly saw him go," I told her which was true. As soon as we had got off the bus, he was gone. I hadn't seen him since. I was soon able to get all of my backpack and sleeping bag to the cabin that was going to be staying in along with Rikku and much to my distaste, Chad.

"Looks like you didn't get to be with either of your girlfriends this time," he sneered. "What happen? Did you have a fight?"

I merely cast a glare at him in response and then went to unroll my sleeping bag. It was Rikku who spoke up next.

"Hey, Chad lay off, already."

Instantly, Chad shrugged and went back to whatever he was doing without saying another word. I looked at Rikku with an eyebrow raised. Usually, I would fend off Chad myself. However, Rikku had actually beaten me to the punch. What was even more out of character with him was that he seemed to be a little more cheerful than usual.

"You're in a good mood," I said dryly.

"What makes you say that?" Rikku asked quizzically.

I smirked.

"Probably the smile you've been wearing ever since we got here."

"Yeah Rikku, what's up with that?" Chad butted in. "Does this got something to do with Morrigan?"

I along with Chad eyed Rikku suspiciously.

"Yeah, does it?" I asked.

Chances were, it probably did. Almost everyone who knew Rikku knew that he had some type of crush on Morrigan. But then again, who didn't have some kind of crush on her? Morrigan just had that effect on people. When she wasn't around, then people returned to normal...well as normal as most people could be. Rikku though seemed to act differently. An explanation came to mind but I thought it was impossible...but then so were some of the other things that happened in my life on a daily basis. So I decided to ask him...

"Do you like Morrigan?"

What happened next wasn't much of a surprise.

"W-What makes you say t-that?" Rikku asked, sounding flustered.

"Maybe it's the stammering and your face turning red," I said dryly.

By this time, Chad began laughing.

"Y-You don't know what you're talking about!" Rikku retorted.

I shrugged, deciding to leave him alone since I had gotten what I wanted out of him anyway. So Rikku turned out not to be under Morrigan's charm but genuinely liked her. Big deal.

_So why do I feel pissed at him all of a sudden?

* * *

_

After the whole moving in phase was over with, it was lunch time, although I wouldn't have called it lunch, but rather dinner since it was four thirty when we began eating. I sat at the table, finishing what was left of my sandwich as I passively watched Morrigan mingle with some of the other girls. It was true that Morrigan and I sort of didn't have a social life outside our home anymore, but it wasn't that big of a deal. However, I found myself still thinking of my discovery of my friend. Why the hell was it bothering me so much? Why did I have a sudden urge to strangle Rikku?

_I can't be jealous, can I?_

No. That just wasn't possible on any level, no matter how insane my life was. I was plunging deeper into my rage pool of thoughts until I was pulled out when someone sat down next to me.

"Are you okay?"

I looked over to my unexpected visitor in surprise.

"Jun?"

She flashed me a smile.

"Hey there, _Dai._"

I winced at that and smiled at her in return. Unlike my other friends, Jun had met Lilith on our way to the market. She just so happened to bump into us and got along with Lilith instantly. When she heard her call me by the nickname she had dubbed me, Jun found it to be _cute _and had been calling me that since.

"It's not like you to be eating by yourself," she said. "Are you okay?"

"Sure," I said casually, but knowing her, I didn't think she believed me.

"Whatcha thinkin about?" she asked. "Is it Morrigan?"

"You're a comedian," I replied dryly.

She merely smiled and stuck out her tongue.

"C'mon, tell me what's bothering you!"

I chuckled at her. She always acted like this whenever I seemed negative over something and for some odd reason, whenever she acted this way, my problems wouldn't seem so bad anymore. That was probably what I liked about her.

"Well, if you must know," I began. "I don't like the air around here."

Jun scowled.

"Now you're being ridiculous."

I grinned. I loved messing with her. My grin soon faded and I absentmindedly found myself watching Morrigan again.

"This is about Morrigan isn't it?" Jun said softly as she took a seat next to me.

"Honestly, I'm not really sure," I replied.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"I learned that a friend of ours likes Morrigan."

Jun perked up in surprise at this.

"You mean Rikku?" she asked incredulously.

I nodded.

"I think that's kind of sad."

I looked at Jun with an eyebrow raised. That was rather unexpected. Jun was the type to fawn over romances and all that junk. I expected her of all people to get a little giddy about Rikku being in love with our friend Morrigan.

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"Because Morrigan likes someone else," she replied.

So, someone else has caught Morrigan's eye. I didn't think she actually liked whatever guy was on her mind, but rather what his energy tasted like. She was a succubus after all, but wasn't at all shallow. Jun looked at me.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be you, Daisuke," she said.

That caused me to stare at her in mild disbelief.

"What on God's green earth makes you say that?"

"Call it a hunch," was her answer. I was about to make some remark about that when Mr. Ferguson, the physical science teacher approached us.

"Mr. Daisuke Inoa and Miss Jun Summers, I presume?" he said.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"I'm going around asking students if they would like to go on an evening hike with me and some of my students and I wanted to know if you're interested in joining."

"Sure, I'll go," said Jun.

"Why not," I said, shrugging. "I've got nothing better to do."

Mr. Ferguson smiled.

"Good," he said. "We'll be meeting at the ranger's station in a few minutes."

"Okay," Jun said.

I merely nodded. I shuddered as I watched him walk away. He was kind of a short guy with no hair and wore glasses. He was a little creepy in my opinion since his small smiles made him seem like he was laughing maniacally all the time. Jun looked at me.

"Shall we go?" she asked.

"After you," I replied.

* * *

I was surprised at the amount of people that were waiting to go on this nature hike. I wasn't exactly expecting to see anyone other than just Ferguson's class. Among the crowd, I spotted Rikku, Morrigan, and May along with a few other familiar faces. Morrigan (It dawned on me that I hadn't seen her leave.) looked turned and looked towards me. She then smiled and waved as we approached. Rikku turned and smiled as well.

"Hey, Daisuke, you going on the hike too?" he asked.

I nodded. I gave him a suspicious look when a sly smile appeared on his face.

"Do you think we'll find Bigfoot out here?"

"Who knows," I deadpanned

I sighed. I should've known he'd ask a question pertaining to the supernatural. Hell, he didn't even know that there was a supernatural being standing right next to him.

"Anything's possible," Morrigan said to me with a wink.

I sighed in response. She was making those comments with the subliminal meanings again. Judging from the tone of her playful voice (and my past experiences), she knew something.

"But what?" I nearly yelled.

"Hey Daisuke, what the hell are you doing?"

I blinked in surprised and looked up to see the group beginning to disappear into the woods. Chad was standing right next to me staring at me confused.

"If you're going on the hike then c'mon!"


	21. Demon Castle: Chapter 3

**21**

"MAY! RIKKU! JUN!"

Morrigan and I trekked on silently through the woods as we listened for a response. I cursed when I heard none.

* * *

It had gotten dark when we had returned from the hike with Mr. Ferguson's class. We had broken off into groups for the remainder of the walk. When we had gotten back to the campsite, I've noticed that Jun and May was missing, but had dismissed it, figuring that they had gone somewhere else for a while. It was when I came out of my cabin when I realized what was going on. Just outside of the faculty's cabin, I saw Jon holding up Mr. Ferguson by his shirt. Knowing Talbain, I knew he would catch my scent if I got close enough, but I didn't care. I had to find out why my biology teacher looked as if he were about to kill the earth science teacher. I moved closer hid behind a large oak tree to listen in on the conversation.

"How could you lose them?" Talbain growled. "You said that everyone was present and accounted for!"

"E-Everyone was…" Ferguson stammered. "O-Or so I th-thought."

"Or so you thought? You better pray that we find them…"

Talbain trailed off. I guessed that he sniffed me out.

"Eavesdropping Daisuke? C'mon you know better."

Sighing, I stepped out from my hiding place.

"So what's going on?" I asked. "And could you put Mr. Ferguson down? He looks as if he's about to piss his pants."

Talbain took one look at the teacher and dropped him. Ferguson stood up and straightened out his clothes.

"It's nothing that you should be concerned about Mr. Inoa," he said.

_Bullshit_

"Jun and May got lost in the woods," said Talbain. "And Rikku went off to go find them."

"By himself?" I asked incredulously. _Is he out of his mind?_

It was then that Ferguson looked at Talbain in disbelief.

"Mr. Talbain…?!" he hissed.

"Shut up, you!" Talbain snapped, and then looked towards me. "Ferguson and I were about to go look for the missing students."

"Let me go too," I said automatically.

Both teachers stared at me in astonishment when I said that. Talbain's face then grew stern.

"No, I can't afford you getting lost in there too," he answered.

"Then, what if I go with him?"

The three of us blinked for a moment. The last voice was familiar and it came from above us. We all looked up to see Morrigan sitting on the roof of the cabin, looking down at us with a smile on her face. Mr. Ferguson looked somewhat flustered while Talbain looked somewhat pissed.

"How long have you been up there?" he asked.

"The entire time," Morrigan replied.

Talbain then sighed in exasperation and shook his head.

"Fine," he conceded. "You go with Daisuke. Make sure nothing happens to him."

"Okay."

"What?!" Ferguson nearly yelled.

"Relax, Miss Aensland knows these woods as well as I do."

Morrigan then jumped down from the rooftop and landed in front of me.

"Alright Daisuke, let's go," she said.

"R-Right," I answered.

* * *

And that's pretty much how I ended up where I am now, walking through the dark woods while following closely behind Morrigan.

"Hey, Morrigan, do you really know these woods well," I asked without thinking.

Of course she did. Why else would Talbain pair me up with her?

"No actually."

_Eh wha--?_

"Wait, then how the hell are you leading me?"

The emerald haired girl stopped and turned towards me.

"I can sense 'souls' remember," she said. "Everything has one. As long I can feel some living being, I can never get lost."

That's a pretty useful trick to have, but…

"What if you can't sense anything?" I asked.

Morrigan turned away from me. It seemed like she didn't want to answer my question which was actually fine with me.

"…I'll die."

That stopped me cold. Now that I realized it, I didn't think that Morrigan could die, well except when Donovan attacked. However, I didn't think that she'd die from natural causes like simple passing away. It made me realize that not even Morrigan can live forever.

"C'mon, let's go," she said.

I wasn't sure on how much time went by. Maybe an hour or two went by and still no sign of our friends. It was discouraging but I wasn't about to give up. Morrigan didn't seem like she wanted to quit, but I had to be sure.

"Hey Morrigan, do you…want to head back?"

She suddenly stopped and looked at me confused.

"Of course not," she said immediately. "We still haven't found May, Jun, or Rikku yet…Do you want to head back?"

"No way," I answered defensively. "I was just think that you'd be tired…that's all."

Morrigan looked at me surprised at first, but then let a smile appear on her face.

"Daisuke, that's—"

I looked at her. Something caught her attention.

"What is it?"

"…a song…?"

I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Song?"

Suddenly, Morrigan started to run. I automatically took off after her. I soon found out that she was as quick on foot as she was in the air. I was beginning to lose her in the forest.

"Morrigan…Morrigan wait up!"

Unfortunately, she didn't comply, but only seemed to pull further away from me. Soon, I lost sight of her, but didn't stop running. I knew that she was still in front of me….somewhere. I soon found her again standing in front of a large iron fence. However, I wasn't able to say anything since I was out of breath from all the running. I decided to look around and saw that the iron fence led to an insanely gigantic castle.

_How the hell did I miss that on the way here?_

I was certain that I was the only one awake when we first rode into the camp grounds and judging by the size of the place, it was impossible not to see it. Yet, here I was seeing it for the first time. The castle had a haunting aura to it with the help of the unusual blood red moon.

"I didn't think it was possible," Morrigan suddenly said.

"I didn't think so either," I muttered, faintly aware that we were talking about two different things.

"There's a chance that Jun and May could be here."

I perked up at this.

"Morrigan, have you been here before?" I asked. "What is this place?"

Morrigan then turn towards me.

"Daisuke, welcome to Castle Zeltzereich."

Right when she had said that, the large iron gates suddenly parted and opened. Morrigan smirked as her eyes glowed violet.

"It seems that he is expecting us," she said.

I watched her as she entered through the gate and down the path which led to the castle. I didn't know who "he" exactly was, but I was certain that I was about to find out.

* * *

**Heh heh, and so it begins.**


	22. Demon Castle: Chapter 4

**Well, I guess it's easy to say "About time" wouldn't you agree?

* * *

**

22

I began feeling nervous as Morrigan and I drew closer and closer to the castle. I was already feeling a little edgy about the gothic statues that were lined up down the path we were on and the moon's red ambience really wasn't making the place any more appealing than it already was. A part of me wanted to leave this place quick, but my resolve reminded me that my friends were here and wouldn't allow it. Who knows, maybe this guy was Morrigan's friend and would help us out.

"This guy _**is**_ your friend, right Morrigan?" I asked her.

She scoffed.

"Hardly."

I grimaced.

"What do you mean 'hardly'?"

"I'll be frank with you Daisuke," she said. "Two things could happen to us when we go in. He may actually decide to help us, or he may just decide to kill us."

Sure, it sounded blunt, but I think she was only putting it nicely.

"I like him already," I said sarcastically.

She chuckled at my response.

"Just wait until you meet him."

Sometimes I really wondered if I truly was rubbing off on her. It wasn't long before we were standing in front of the large doors to the castle. However, instead of knocking, Morrigan merely pushed the doors open and waltzed inside as I dumbly followed.

_Jeez, no wonder he'd kill us_

Unsurprisingly, the foyer of the castle was huge, dark, and spooky. There was a large staircase in front of us that led towards a large painting on the landing that split off more stairways into two different directions. I felt like I was in some horror flick that, by now Rikku had probably seen about thirty times. I looked up towards the painting.

_That must be the owner of the castle._

I climbed the stairs to get a closer look at the painting. The guy in the portrait had the most unusual haircut that I had ever seen. He was also dressed as some noble from the dark ages.

"Who is this guy?" I asked.

"That is Demitri Maximoff, the lord of this castle."

Morrigan and I both turned around to see a well dressed old man and a hooded young girl in a cloak. The old man narrowed his eyes at Morrigan.

"Lady Aensland, it has been a while since your last visit," he said. "Interestingly enough, you've decided to use the main door this time."

Instead of using one of her playful responses, Morrigan looked at the man with a serious expression.

"Is it true?" She asked. "Is it true that Demitri is alive?"

The man merely smiled.

"…Yes, it is true. Lady Aensland, you seem troubled. Is something wrong?"

"No," was the response. "For the record, I'm not here for Demitri."

"We're here for my friends," I said.

I sounded a little harsh, but I couldn't help it. For some reason, I didn't like this guy at all. I felt that I should be wary of him, but right now had nothing to worry about.

The old guy looked at me in confusion.

"Your friends…?"

"We're looking for three people that might've stumbled into this castle," said Morrigan. "Their names are Rikku, May, and Jun."

"I see," he replied. "However, I'm afraid that the only guests that we have here tonight are you and your…pet."

I glared at him.

"I'm sorry, what?" I said, almost dangerously.

"I would prefer you not refer to my companion as a pet," Morrigan said.

The old man then bowed his head.

"As you wish, milady," he said, then turned to the girl. "Rose, please guide these two to the waiting room. I will go inform the lord of our guests."

And with that, I watched him as he suddenly disappeared into the shadows along the wall.

_That's a neat trick_ I thought.

* * *

Soon, we found ourselves alone following the girl called Rose down a long dark hallway and into this nice area that had been dubbed the waiting room, though it looked more like a study. 

"I hope you find your friends," Rose said to me, before leaving us alone.

As soon as she closed the entrance doors, I did what any normal curious person would do if they were in an unfamiliar place.

I meddled around.

As I began scanning the bookshelf for reading material, I noticed Morrigan sitting quietly in one of the chairs, staring into the flickering blaze of the fireplace. It was then that I felt rather obligated to start conversation.

"So uh Morrigan…"

She looked at me curiously.

"What else can you tell me about Demitri?"

Morrigan stared at me, apparently surprised that I had even asked the question. She sat up from the chair.

"Well, he's an ambitious one for starters," she said. "He was the strongest amongst the lesser nobles wanted to become ruler of Makai."

"That's where you lived right?"

She nodded.

"He had challenged the current ruler, Belial, but was defeated and banished here."

"Were you expecting him to die here? I remember you asking the old man whether he was truly alive or not."

Morrigan looked confused at first, but then nodded in understanding when I added the last comment.

"Well no," she replied. "But a few years ago, I heard he had been struck down by another noble named Jedah."

"So how is he alive now?"

"That's what I'd to know."

Silence fell between us. I smirked.

"Well, maybe we should ask him when we meet him, huh" I said, breaking the silence. "Maybe we can get him to help us."

Just then, it looked as if the whole room had moved for a second and my legs felt weak. I blinked.

_What the hell was that?_

"That isn't likely," Morrigan said, answering my earlier statement.

I clutched my head and took a shaky step back to regain my balance and focus. It was then that Morrigan noticed my state.

"Daisuke, are you okay?"

I clutched the bridge of my nose. I didn't want to tell her that there was something wrong.

Why worry her?

"Yeah, I just got a little dizzy for a second," I said as I made a grab for the mantle.

Strangely, the moment I touched the mantle, the room spun for a quick second. I heard Morrigan yell out my name before I somehow ended up face planting onto the floor.

_Well, this is embarrassing_ I mused.

I looked up, prepared to give Morrigan an explanation only to find no one there. In fact, I was no longer in the waiting room, but instead an entirely different hallway.

_What the hell just happened?_

How could I have just end up in an entirely new area from standing in the study? I stood up to take in my new surroundings. I looked back and to my surprise, there was the fireplace from before. The only difference was that the fire was out, but in the end, only my surroundings had changed.

"My, my, what do we have here?"

I quickly drew my eyes towards the front to see a woman standing there with her hands on her hips. She smirked.

I gulped. I wondered where she had come from. There was something very abnormal about this situation. Just then, two more young women stepped out from behind her. All three women appeared to be in their twenties and were in evening gowns with slits on the sides.

"It looks like a human," one of them said.

"Poor thing must've gotten lost," another said.

_Why are they talking as if I'm no here?_

The one that appeared to be the leader suddenly got a hungry look in her eye.

"Hmm, he certainly is a handsome one, isn't he ladies?" she said.

"Yes," one of them replied then grinned.

That's when I realized the situation that I was currently in. I felt my eyes widening in terror.

_Fangs?!_

I took a step back, knowing that I had no place to run to. I was trapped. One of the women giggled.

"Don't worry, we won't bite…" she said.

"…hard," the other finished for her.

* * *

**More to come. Stay tuned.**


	23. Demon Castle: Chapter 5

**I got to stop with the monthly uploads. It'd be better if I can get it done every few weeks. Enjoy.****  
**

* * *

**23**

"Aw man."

I backed into the wall as the three women began closing the gap between us. I had never thought I would end up in a situation like this, but then, I should've seen this coming. Out of all the different darkstalkers that I've encountered, I would've eventually had a run in with these. I only wished that I was better prepared. I could feel myself beginning to sweat as the women drew closer, giggling in delight. Suddenly, the wall next to me exploded and I watched as three spear-like tentacles shot out from it. Each of them hit a woman in their chest and raised them in the air before they dispersed into sand.

"Daisuke, are you okay?" I heard Morrigan ask.

I looked over to see her stepping through the hole in the wall, eyeing me worriedly. I gave her a small smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine thanks to you."

She smiled at me, apparently relieved.

"Oh my."

At some point, Rose came back. She noticed the hole in the wall and decided to investigate. I watched as she stepped through. 

"You two are a destructive pair," she said, eyeing the damage.

I eyed her blankly.

"You aren't angry that I did this to your master's home?" Morrigan asked, somewhat surprised.

The young girl looked at her and smiled.

"Not at all," she replied, which floored me. "This kind of thing tends to happen quite frequently, so I'm used to it."

Morrigan was apparently as shocked as I was. I had almost forgotten what I wanted to ask her.

"Hey, uh Rose?"

She stared at me curiously.

"Are you…a vampire?"

The question obviously surprised her. She lowered her head in shame.

"…Y-Yes," she said. "Um, that doesn't bother you does it?"

I smiled and shook my head as I thought that if she had asked me a few months ago, this would've bothered me a lot. It also made me remember about my paranoia of Morrigan when she first appeared to me.

"I only asked because you seem different than those women," I said.

"Yes," Morrigan agreed. "Definitely unlike any other vampire I've encountered."

Rose smiled. However, her smile disappeared as quickly as it came.

"Mr. Inoa, I wish to tell you something."

I looked at her blankly, wondering what it was she wanted to tell me.

"I know of your friends," she said.

I stared at her in disbelief. For a moment I lost myself and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Where are they? Are they here? Are they alright?"

Rose was startled by my sudden outburst, but she quickly collected herself.

"There was a young girl who entered the castle earlier," she said calmly. "If I recall correctly, she had unusual pink hair in low pigtails."

That had to be Jun. She had somehow ventured into this castle apparently filled with vampires and God knows what else. The only question that remained to be asked was where was she now?

"Is she safe?" I asked.

"If you mean is she unharmed then yes," Rose replied. "I believe she was taken to the roof towers."

"Daisuke, that's where Demitri is," Morrigan said.

I clenched my fists.

"Tell me something, Rose," I said. "Will Demitri…"

"I do not know."

She looked away from me.

"The master slumbers, and I am sure that he is aware that she is here."

That meant that there was still time before she was in danger. I wanted to save her before then. I looked at Morrigan and stared into her eyes. She smiled and nodded at me as if to say 'let's go for it Daisuke', apparently reading my mind.

"How can we get to the top?"

"Well, there are two ways of getting to the top of the castle," Rose said, looking at Morrigan.

"Well, I can't fly," Morrigan replied. "I have been trying ever since we first entered the castle."

"The master has many enemies. He had set these barriers up so that he could recover in peace."

"So that means there's only one option, right?" I asked.

Rose nodded.

"Yes. I'm afraid that you will have to take the long way."

_Aw great._

This didn't sound like good news to me. If we were to take this 'long way', then I was afraid that we may arrive too late and Jun would be…

Rose looked back towards the hole in the wall.

"What is it?" Morrigan asked curiously.

"William is calling for me," she answered, visibly saddening.

"How do we get to the top?"

Something told me that she did not want to tend to her boss. Deep down I knew that she was probably cursing her fate as a vampire and she had my sympathy, but that was a question that I really needed to ask. She didn't seem to mind. 

"Continue down this corridor and you will eventually enter the garden courtyard," she said, pointing passed us. "I wish that I could join you, but alas I cannot."

"That's alright, Rose," said Morrigan. "We'll be fine on our own."

I nodded in agreement.

"There are many dangers within this castle," Rose warned. "Please be careful."

"We will," I replied. "Alright, let's go Morrigan."

"Good luck to the both of you."

Rose gave us a curt bow before turning away and leaving through the opening. 

* * *

Morrigan and I ran down the hallway. So far, we hadn't run into any of the dangers that Rose had talked about. It was a pain that Morrigan wasn't able to fly. She couldn't even transform into her succubus state, but that didn't mean that she couldn't use any of her powers. Really I was hoping it would be enough if we were in any real peril.

"Daisuke, look!"

Not to far down the corridor in front of us, there were a group people slowly moving around. They were all dressed in brown cloaks with hoods hiding their faces. 

"More vampires?" I muttered.

Morrigan shook her head.

"No, they're…different."

I eyed Morrigan questioningly before returning to my careful watch of the mob. There was something weird about them. They were moving around as if they hadn't noticed us. When one of them pulled down their hood, I realized that they were…

"Zombies?"

I looked over towards Morrigan and saw that she seemed as surprised as I was. They didn't shamble like I expected them too. They certainly had the decaying skin and the lifeless look of zombies. However, they acted more like the living. Just then, the hoodless one looked towards us. A horrified expression seemed to appear on his face as he pointed at us.

"It looks like he noticed us," Morrigan smirked.

_About time_ I mused.

To my surprise, he suddenly hissed and _sprinted_ towards us—only to collide with a large ball of light. I stared at the zombie in horror as it was now a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Holy crap."

Soon all the other zombies looked towards us and hissed just as the first had. I looked to see Morrigan grimacing.

"There are quite a number of them," she deadpanned.

"…Yeah."

I had to agree. There were a lot of them, ready to attack us at any given moment. It unnerved me to no end. Hell, they were even capable of communicating with each other, thus making them not your typical zombies. Every instinct in my body was telling me to turn around and run away and save myself. However, when the though of Jun, my best friend, came to mind, the only thing that I thought about was…

_They're in my way._

I looked over to my left and spotted a suit of armor from the Middle Ages complete with a broadsword. I wretched the blade from its scabbard and held it in front of me. 

_Déjà vu, anyone?_

I noticed Morrigan staring at me questioningly.

"Jun is my best friend. We grew up together," I said. "There's no way I'd abandon her."

She stared at me, surprised that I had said that. I noticed a small smile creep onto her features.

"You've…grown stronger," she murmured.

I shrugged.

"Isn't it about time that I protect you for a change?"

Morrigan's eyes went wide at that. Something else was happening to her, though I wondered if my eyes were playing tricks on me.

_Is she…blushing?_

"Daisuke…" she looked away from me. "…You…don't need to worry about me."

I stared at her surprised. Although she was trying to hide it, it was pretty evident that she was flustered. I smiled.

"C'mon," I said. "Let's go save Jun."

She quickly composed herself and returned my smile as she nodded at me.

Suddenly, we heard a loud hissing noise and looked to see the zombies stampeding towards us. Morrigan and I readied ourselves.

_Here they come._


	24. Demon Castle: Chapter 6

**I don't know whether or not I should be happy considering that I posted a week later but still into the next month. Enjoy.

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**

24

I yelled out as I slashed my way through one more zombie. I looked back to see another jumping at me from behind, but then saw Morrigan dispel it with a kick. We were now standing back to back as we now realized that the zombies had surrounded us.

"…This is endless," Morrigan said.

It was pretty evident in her voice that she was getting tired. The magic barriers were beginning to take their toll on her. I wasn't too far behind her myself. I placed the blade end on the ground and leaned on the sword with both hands. If this kept up, Morrigan and I would die a dog's death. The other thing is that we hadn't killed that many zombies. Unlike regular zombies, these were a little smarter and faster so they were capable of dodging our attacks. The thing that surprised me the most was when I attacked another ghoul; he had dodged my slash and then countered by punching me in the face. I impaled him with my sword before he could follow up with anything.

"Dammit!"

This was getting us nowhere. I wasn't sure how much longer Morrigan could hold out, but I was pretty sure that I may not last as long. We had to escape.

_But how?_

My question was answered when my eyes set onto a window. I didn't think about it, I acted. I grabbed Morrigan, by the hand and made a break for the window and crashed through it. To my surprise, the fall was a bit sharper than I had thought. During the fall I had let go of Morrigan's hand and hit the ground rolling. I was a little dazed from the fall, but I looked up to see the cloaked zombies gathered at the window. Strangely enough, they quickly disappeared. I looked towards Morrigan.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded.

"I'm fine."

I sighed. Morrigan and I had several scratches but we would be alright.

"I never would've thought that zombies could move like that," I said.

"They're most likely the failed victims of vampires," she said.

I looked at her confused.

"Failed victims?"

Morrigan nodded.

"It only happens when the victim fails to turn into a vampire. It isn't an uncommon occurrence."

_No kidding._

"Any idea where they went?" I asked.

She looked towards the window.

"No, but seeing that they aren't following, we should be fine for now."

"Well, that's good."

I stood up and held my hand out to her. She smiled as she took and pulled herself up.

"We should get moving," I said.

Strangely enough, when I took a step forward, my legs suddenly felt weak and I soon found myself falling forward, plunging towards the ground. Morrigan say out my name and felt her hands catch me.

"Maybe we should rest," she said.

"There's no time to rest," I said in protest. "Jun will be—"

"I know, "she cut me off. "But if you aren't at full strength then you may not even make it to Jun."

Deep down, I knew she was right, but I still opened my mouth in protest.

"But—"

"Listen, all I'm saying is that we take a little break, that's all."

Obviously she wasn't backing down. I soon found my eyes growing heavy. That's weird. I didn't remember being so tired. I had no choice but to concede to Morrigan's request. My world went black as we began to sit down.

* * *

I woke up, but didn't open my eyes. I wondered how long I was out. I hoped that I hadn't slept long. There was a strange warm feeling on the back of my head. Apparently I was laying on something other than the ground. I opened my eyes to see Morrigan staring down at me. She smiled.

"Are you feeling alright?" she asked.

"Yeah."

I stared at her for a moment. There was something weird about my view. My eyes widened as it soon dawned on me.

_I…am laying…on…her lap._

I sat up looking away from her. The whole moment had caught me by surprise. I simply refused to look at her.

I was hiding the blush on my face.

"The break was a good idea after all," I said. "How long was I out?"

"Ten, maybe fifteen minutes," she replied. "Are you sure you're okay?"

I turned to her with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine now."

I blinked in confusion.

"You changed your clothes?"

She smiled.

"I tried to transform again, but no such luck," she said. "It seems that the barrier even reaches here."

Morrigan was no longer wearing the beige shorts and vest from earlier, but was now in a long-sleeved black dress with a matching pair of long boots. There was a decorative belt around her waist and a cross outlined in pink, embroidered in the center of her dress. Her hair wasn't in a ponytail like it had been earlier, but instead she let it cascade down her back as she usually did. I had to admit, I thought it really suited her.

"It looks good on you."

I soon regretted my words when she smirked.

"Thank-you," she said. "But I don't think that this is the time to be hitting on me."

"I-I'm not!"

Crap! She got me flustered. I had to change the subject quick.

"Eh, let's get moving. There's only so much time before Demitri wakes up."

"You're right," she replied. "I can always tease you after we get Jun back."

I smiled as I nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Is this it?"

After what seemed like a while of walking, we came unto a large glass building. A miniature glass mansion was a better way to describe it. The glass was fogged over but I was still able to see some trees and other green plants inside.

_That's a greenhouse _I mused._ That isn't what Rose was talking about, is it?_

"I guess this is the place," Morrigan said, scratching the back of her head.

I gave her a questioning look.

"You said you've been here before, right?"

She nodded.

"But I've only flown straight to Demitri's chambers, so this is actually my first time exploring the castle."

_Something else we have in common._

"SOUL FIST!"

I ducked my head down as a ball of light zipped past my head and looked back to see a corpse crumpled on the ground. Soon we heard a familiar hissing and looked back to see a horde of familiar cloaked figures running towards us.

"Not again!"

"Normally I'm not for this, but I suggest that we run," Morrigan said.

We made a break for the greenhouse with those zombies on our tail. Once we were inside, Morrigan closed the doors. I opted to run, but then noticed that she wasn't following. I looked back at her.

"Morrigan, what're you doing?"

She looked back at me with a smile.

"This is custom made glass from Makai," she said. "They won't be able to break it."

Though my instincts were screaming otherwise, I decided to trust Morrigan's words. The zombies came and slammed right into the side of the greenhouse. Some of them began pounding on the glass, but surprisingly it didn't break. It didn't even crack. I let out a sigh of relief not realizing that I had been holding it in. Morrigan turned and gave me a smile and I could only return it.

"Nice." I eyed her curiously. "Didn't you say this glass came from Makai?"

"Yes. What about it?"

"Makai, that's your home right?"

"Right." She turned away from me. "But it's strange…"

"Huh? What's strange?"

"There's no way he could've gotten this glass himself," she said.

I went to say something, but then I suddenly saw something move from the corner of my eye. I turned to see what it was—

--only to have its teeth sink into my arm.

"Gaaagh!"

Morrigan turned around alerted. I looked to see that it was some kind of flower, with a mouth full of sharp teeth, clamped on my arm. The succubus promptly pulled its jaws apart and ripped it in two. When I looked at the flower my vision began to blur.

_Poison?_

I placed a hand onside my temple in an attempt to suppress an oncoming heading. My legs turned into rubber and I had a bad taste in my mouth. Morrigan then turned towards me to see me in disarray.

"Daisuke?

She caught me as I began to fall over and knelt down with me in her arms. My eyes were growing heavy and it was getting harder to breathe. It seemed that the poison was working faster than I realized. Morrigan's voice seemed to echo as she called out my name.

"Daisuke… What's wrong?"

As my vision began to darken, I noticed something rising up behind her. I wanted to warn Morrigan, but I was no longer able to move or speak.

"Daisuke…?!"

The last bit of my strength left me and my eyes closed, pulling me into darkness.

"DAISUKEEEEEEEEEE!!"

* * *

**My, it's just one thing after another, eh? Such a shame that I have to put Daisuke through all this. Then again, considering the past that I had put together for him, I would have to say it must be his destiny. Aw well.**


	25. Demon Garden: Chapter 1

**Well now, it's certainly been awhile and for a while, I sorta fell out of Darkstalkers. But then I found the comics. Enjoy**

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**25**

…_Morrigan…_

That was the last thing on my mind before I blacked out. I was apparently still alive and laying on something hard other than the ground. I opened my eyes, once again conscious to the world around me and immediately found something wrong.

_I can't move my body!_

What the hell was going on? I scanned the area around me my eyes and realized that I was somewhere else inside the greenhouse and apparently on a metal table. It set off alarms in my head because it felt as if I was awaiting an operation.

…_Or an autopsy…_

How did I get here? One moment I was on the ground staring into Morrigan's eyes before I passed out. Speaking of which, where was she? Last I seen her, she was in danger. Was she even alive still?

I really hoped so.

"Ah, so you're awake."

I blinked in surprise as a man came into view with his back facing me. He stood in front of a shelf with rows of blue flowers very similar to the one that bit me. He scratched one of them under its chin (well where its chin would've been) with his index finger.

"It's very surprising that you're conscious, considering the potency of the toxin that is coursing through your veins."

My eyes widened.

_Toxin?!_

"Don't worry, it merely leaves you paralyzed for a few hours," he said as if reading my mind. "It won't kill you."

The man turned towards me with a smile. To me, it was the strangest smile that I had ever seen. I didn't sense any devious or murderous intent behind it. As a matter of fact, there wasn't anything behind it. However, it did make me realize something else.

_This guy isn't human!_

"You're no ordinary human, are you?"

I tried to open my mouth to reply, but I wasn't able to. I couldn't even make a sound. The man chuckled.

"You are rather astonishing. Though I wasn't as surprised as I was when I found a succubus in my trap as well."

My eyes widened.

_Morrigan…!_

I soon found myself glaring at him which seemed to only amuse him.

"Ooh, scary," he said, feigning nervousness. "If you're upset about her then all you had to do was look behind you."

He pushed my head with his index finger so that my head was facing away from him—

--and onto the very one that I was thinking about.

_Morrigan…_

She lied still on a metal table not unlike the one I was on. Her eyes were closed, but the steady rising and falling of her stomach told me that she was still breathing. She was still alive.

"I nearly had to triple her dose," the man said. "Unlike you, she isn't human. Though an increased dosage would keep her paralyzed like you, I upped the amount so that she'd stay comatose. I believe it's safer that way…"

He grabbed my chin and moved my head so that I was looking at him.

"…wouldn't you agree?"

_Bastard!_

Though I was relieved that Morrigan was alright, I grimaced at the fact that we at the mercy of this vampire. But why didn't he just bite us while we were sleeping? It wasn't much of a surprise that he turned back to the table.

"You're probably wondering why you're still alive," he said.

This was getting really creepy. I really hoped that he couldn't read minds. My eyes widened when he turned around and held up a syringe and a scalpel.

"Well now, let's see what exactly makes _you_ tick, shall we?"

_Shit! This is an autopsy!!_

I frantically tried moving my arms and legs while praying that they would respond. This nut was going to send me off to la-la land while he carved me open like a Christmas turkey. Suddenly, something happened; something that I would consider a miracle for the rest of my days.

Three black spears pierced the vamp in his chest. He looked past me with eyes wide.

"I-Impossible…" he wheezed.

My eyes followed the long black spears onto the only person that I knew who possessed them. With her head slightly raised, Morrigan glared at the vamp and raised her arm into the air with the spears extending from it. It was then that I noticed something strange about her; her eyes were a dull green and lacked life. What in the world was wrong with her? I looked back to the vamp and saw that Morrigan was holding him in the air. He stared down at us, both angry and frightened as he squirmed. The spears then began to grow longer, moving the vamp further away from us. Suddenly they began to retract, but not before dropping the vampire somewhere. I guessed that it was into a lake from the splashing noise that followed.

"Daisu…ke…"

I looked back to see her reaching for me. I wanted to reach out and grab her hand, but I couldn't. Suddenly to my horror, she slid off the table and crashed onto the ground. She lied there motionlessly. I tried moving to help her, but it was no use. My body wouldn't respond. What made it worse was that I began hearing the rustling of bushes.

Someone was coming.

I felt my heartbeat speed up and felt as if it was going to pop out of my chest as I heard footsteps moving towards me. Was it that vampire? No, it couldn't be. Morrigan had stabbed in the chest. As the footsteps drew closer, I began steeling myself for the threat to come.

"Daisuke? Morrigan?"

My eyes widened. I recognized the voice.

_Rose?_

Just as her name appeared in my mind, her hooded face appeared in my sight. It was then that I noticed her bright blue eyes staring at me in relief.

"Thank God, I found you," she said, the relief evident in her voice.

I couldn't help but silently agree.

"Don't worry, you're safe now."

* * *

Rose got both of us away from the work area that that vampire had set up. I was amazed at her strength as a vampire, since she carried both of us at once. At the moment, she had left me alone with Morrigan. I stared at her unconscious form as she lied against the tree right next to me. It was amazing for her to move and kill that guy, despite the amount toxins that paralyzed her body. She looked peaceful lying there; beautiful even. I wondered if she was even aware that I was watching her.

"Hey, Mr. Daisuke…"

Rose startled me. I didn't even hear her come back. I looked at her as she approached me and knelt down. She held up a small vial of green liquid.

"This is the antitoxin," she said. "As soon as I inject it into you, you'll be able to move again."

I wanted to smile at this but as expected, I couldn't. I was so happy at the news that it hadn't even occurred to me as to how she came across an antidote. However, I did kinda wonder…

_So how is she gonna inject that into me?_

I didn't see a syringe anywhere. For the moment I remained puzzled as she lifted my arm. My ended when poured the liquid into her mouth then bit my arm. Earlier, I remember saying that I couldn't feel my body.

_Well I certainly felt that!_

I inwardly cringed at the pain in my arm. I suddenly sat up.

"Gah! That hurt!"

I gave Rose a blank look as she stared back at me surprised. I began grinning when it finally dawned on me.

"Ha! I can talk!" I laughed as I threw my arms up. "I can move! Woohoo! My arm hurts!"

Okay so maybe that last one was a little weird. Rose seemed taken back by my outburst, but smiled nonetheless. I hoped that she didn't think I was some kind of masochist.

"Well, I didn't expect the effect to be _that _immediate," she said, chuckling.

My smile suddenly faded when I looked down at my arm. Blood trickled from the two holes that were not embedded into my arm. My expression turned grim.

"Hey Rose?"

Upon seeing the look on my face, a nervous expression appeared on her face.

"Will I turn into a vampire?"

As soon as I looked at the wound it was the main question that came up. Rose stared at me incredulously for a moment before sighing and giving me comforting smile. She seemed relieved.

"No, you'll be alright."

This time, it was my turn to be relieved. Now when thought about it, I didn't know very much about vampires.

"I'm glad to know that you're alright…"

Rose's and my eyes widened when we heard the voice. We turned to see that vampire again, only this time he seemed to be covered from head to toe in burns.

"What the hell happened to you?" I asked.

Though he looked as if he was in pain, he smirked.

"I don't think you have to worry about what happened me, but rather what I'm going to do to you…"

Just then, a familiar figure hung limply from the ceiling in vines...to my horror.

_Morrigan!_

"…And what I'm going to do to her!"

"You bastard…!"

Before I realized it, that vampire was wearing a gas mask. I wondered what he was up to but then one of those poisonous blue plants that bit me earlier appeared. The difference however, was its size. This plant was about the size of a small house. The plant lowered its head and opened its mouth. Suddenly, I was surrounded by some kind of pink fog.

"If breathed in, this gas decomposes everything while it's still living," that vampire said. "It's so powerful that it could kill even vampires."

Well this was bad. Now my survival was entirely on how long I was able to hold my breath until I get out of here. I heard the vampire beginning to laugh maniacally as the gas grew thicker. It looked like the gas was going to be here awhile.

_Damn._

* * *

**Wow, it just seems that Daisuke came out of the fire and into the furnace doesn't it. Now that I'm back, I like to thank everyone who's read this story and those who reviewed. As of now, this story has reached that fav list of thirty people and the alert list of eighteen. Hopefully those numbers will increase. Well that's all for now.**


	26. Demon Garden: Chapter 2

**Holy crap! It's been three months since my last update?! Jeez. Well anyway, I've finally manage to post the latest chapter of this story arc and sadly, I've got about more than ten to go. Luckily, I've already started on two more chapters after this one. I still can't believe the number of reviews that I've got for this and I want to thank everyone who made it all possible. I enjoyed your reviews and I hope that you'll keep them coming. As for now, enjoy**

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**26**

The thick cloud only seemed to thicken as it surrounded us.

Before I knew it, Rose, who was standing not too far next to me, had disappeared into the fog. At that point, I had been holding my breath for what felt like eternity and I wasn't sure of how much longer I could hold out.

_Damn!_

I fell to my knees with my hand clamped tightly over my mouth.

I was reaching my limit.

I knew that if I were to give in and breathe, I was dead. Things were beginning to look grim for me. That is, until something unexpected happened.

Something began tapping my shoulder.

I couldn't see it, because the fog was beginning to burn my eyes so I had closed them, but I could tell that it was a hand. It was seemingly trying to be sure that it was me. Soon, another joined it and they suddenly clenched my shirt and pulled my off the ground. At this point, I'm not to sure of what the hell was happening, but judging by the wind that was hitting me heavily I figured that I was moving quickly through the air. I crack open my eyes as I looked upwards and caught a glimpse of a cloaked figure before shutting my eyes again. The cloak figure I saw was Rose, but there was something strange protruding from her back. When I began to think about it, it looked kind of like…

_Wings?_

Soon, I felt my feet touch the ground and the hands release their hold on me. However, I fell straight onto my back, breathing as if I had just tried outrunning a jet airplane.

I wasn't alone though.

Sitting right next to me, was Rose, breathing just as hard. I was relieved to know that we had both made it out of the fog. I wasn't going to last much longer and would've taken my last breath if what happened hadn't happened. I looked up at Rose to see her as relieved as I was.

"…Thanks…" I said, still trying to catch my breath. "I…didn't know you could fly."

The girl smiled at me.

"You're welcome," she replied, sounding as equally winded. "…But…I can't fly."

Suddenly, instead of me catching my breath, my breath caught me as I stared at her in confusion.

"So then how…?"

"I used my familiars to create an updraft and glide us away from there," she answered.

I gave her a puzzled look.

"Familiars?"

"Yes, Vampire magic. Only the elder vampires can really summon them."

Realizing what she had just said, I figured that she was one of the 'elder' vampires. I quickly tossed the thought and decided to ask my next question.

"So what exactly are familiars?"

The question seemed to have caught her by surprise.

"They're servant spirits that we can summon," she answered. "They come to us in different forms. For example, Samuel's familiars have taken the form of plant life."

"Ah…"

Rose then gave me a curious look.

"Um Daisuke, how much do you know about vampires?"

I looked towards the ground as I began scratching the back of my head.

"Not a whole lot," I answered sheepishly. "Only the part about a wooden stake to the heart and sunlight."

For once in my life, I am ashamed of my lack of knowledge of the supernatural. Rose was no doubt staring at me in disbelief.

"And he still chose to enter this castle?" I heard her murmur.

_Yeah I know, I can't believe it either_.

But I wasn't about to abandon my friend. She stared at me for a moment before sighing. She could probably see it in my eyes.

There was no way in hell that I was backing down.

Rose then reached into her cloak and grabbed my hand. She pulled whatever it was that she had hidden and placed it firmly in my hand.

"This is a memento from my father," she said. "I'm entrusting it to you okay?"

I dumbly nodded then looked down at the object she had placed in my hand.

A dagger?

I studied the sheathed blade. The sheath itself was well-crafted, having many engravings trailing all the way to the hilt. There was a blood red gem, a ruby, placed in the end of the hilt which gave the dagger somewhat a mystical appeal. I pull the blade from its scabbard and examined the blade itself. Upon closer inspection, I could see some other substance all over the blade. I looked at Rose questioningly.

"For basic knowledge, to kill a vampire, you stab them in the heart with either wooden or silver weapon," she said.

Realizing that it was silver on the blade, I nodded to her in understanding as I tucked it back inside into its sheath.

This bastard was going to pay for kidnapping Morrigan.

* * *

I was surprised when Rose had told me that she had knew where the vamp was and that she led me right to him. His wounds from earlier had disappeared and he was now sitting at a clothed table in front of a large tree. Sitting in front of him was a fine wine glass filled with what appeared to be fine wine.

"I was beginning to wonder when you'd come back," he suddenly said. Once again, his smile held no malice or deviousness that he most likely had in store for us.

I was kind of caught off guard when he indicated that he was expecting us.

Did the grass tell him?

It was meant to be a joke to keep me calm, but then after remembering what Rose had told me, I wondered if it was really true.

"I'm a little surprised to see that you're still alive, eh Rose?"

"You should've known better, Samuel," she replied.

I looked to the vampiric girl next to me. So they knew each other, that fact wasn't surprising. However, I realized that I didn't really know anything about Rose. Besides the small glimpse of her eyes and hair, I didn't even know what she really looked like. She was a mystery to me and appeared to genuinely want to help me, so I chose to trust her. I hope I don't regret it later.

"I never thought that I'd see you helping a human," said Samuel. "I wonder what William would think."

"I think I just found an incentive to kill you Samuel," Rose said darkly.

I gave her a strange look. She was starting to sound like one of those contract assassins from those spy action movies. Samuel chuckled at this, never letting any other emotion betray the empty smile that he was currently displaying.

"So, you're finally doing it? Well, I guess I should've expected it. After all, you're the only vampire within this castle who will not bend to the master's will."

Hearing this piques my curiosity. I make a mental note to ask her about it later.

If we survived that is.

"Before we begin however…"

Rose and I watch curiously and cautiously as Samuel stands up from the table with his wine glass in hand.

"…I would like to make a toast," he said.

Now I was confused. I watched as Samuel turned around to the tree behind him.

"…A toast to our future queen," he then said, holding his glass towards the tree.

I cock an eyebrow at the scene, wondering what exactly is going on. I look at the tree to see what he is talking about. Suddenly, my confusion changes to horror.

Morrigan!

She was bound to the tree by numerous vines, still comatose from earlier. I glared daggers at the vamp. What Rose said next nearly sent me over the edge.

"Samuel, you've tasted her blood?"

I clenched my fists so tightly that they were in danger of bleeding. I was getting so angry that my body had begun shaking. If Morrigan had been bitten, then she'd be…

"Heaven's no," Samuel answered, turning towards us. "If I had, the master would've hung my head on the wall of his trophy room."

That empty smile of his was still plastered over his face and it was beginning to piss me off. Was this a joke to him?

It was then that I saw sudden movement behind me and whirled around to see what it was. The moment I did, I was pinned to the ground when I caught one of those giant blue man-eating plants by the mouth. I was doing my best holding it off so I wouldn't become its snack, but it was overpowering me. Suddenly, the plant went limp in my hands.

What the…?

I stared at the flower quizzically as I wondered what had just happened.

"Daisuke, are you alright?" Rose suddenly asked.

That's when it occurred to me that she had saved me. I tossed the flower aside and stood up next to her.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Whew, that was a close one!"

I looked over towards Samuel who was still smiling. My desire to wipe it off his face began to grow even more.

"You bastard."

Samuel burst into laughter.

"Don't lick your wounds just yet," he said. "We've only just begun!"

Soon after he said that, a series of giant flower burst out of the ground, surrounding us.

"Aw great," I muttered as I pulled out the knife Rose had given to me.

Sure, it seemed pathetic to pull out such a blade considering what we were up against, but it was the only weapon that I had on me. Suddenly, the ground began to rumble beneath me. At first I thought it was an earthquake. Then, something suddenly wrapped around my waist and yanked me off to the side, just as a one of the man-eating flowers burst from the ground at where I was just standing. I grimaced.

_That was a Venus flytrap!_

I stared in shock as I watched it retract itself back into the ground. I remembered when I was younger that my grandmother had Venus flytraps in her greenhouse. Being the dumb little brat that I was, I had messed with one of them and it has snapped onto my finger. It happened pretty fast. When I thought about how it wouldn't be different if they were big enough to swallow me whole.

I didn't want to think about it anymore.

And now, I figured that this guy had them set underground, between us and him. Staring at the distance between us, it was like a mine field. This was going to be harder than I thought.

"Are you alright, Daisuke?"

I turned to my right to see Rose glaring at Samuel.

"Yeah," I said, standing up. "I'm fine."

It was then that I noticed that there was something extending from her arm and towards me. In fact, it was what was wrapped around my waist.

_Paper?_

I had touched material that was wrapped around me and knew that it was indeed paper. Was this Rose's familiar? I watched as it unwrapped itself and retreated back into her cloaked form. That made me glad that Rose was on my side. Her ability would definitely come in handy. I turned to send my hateful gaze towards Samuel as he continued sipping his wine. I was surprised to see two more giant plants on both sides of him, but they were different. The one to my left was a violet color and fully bloomed flower. The one on the right was a dull gray colored bud. Something in my gut told me that these two flowers were more special than the others.

"Be extra cautious, Daisuke."

I glanced towards Rose.

"That viola shoots poisonous barbs," she whispered. "And that gray one is a stone flower."

"A stone flower?" I repeated, my confusion evident in my voice.

"Plants that medusa herself had grown," she answered. "They shoot petrifaction putty."

She glanced at me to note the quizzical look that was in my eyes.

"If you're hit, you'll be turned to stone."

That caused a sweat drop to run down my face. I knew that one day, I would have to fight a vampire, but this wasn't what I imagined. However, my resolve didn't dwindle.

"Human…"

I looked towards Samuel as he began pouring himself another glass of red wine.

"Do you wish to save the succubus?" he asked.

I glared at him. Of course I wanted to save Morrigan. Seeing the look on my face, he chuckled before taking a sip of his wine.

"Then come take her from me."


	27. Demon Garden: Chapter 3

**Yo, it's been awhile. this was just one of those super hard chapters that I ended up making. Hey, Daisuke can only do so much right?

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_What the hell did he just say to me?_

If I heard him right, then that was a taunt. When I was younger, I used to fight a lot and that was why I'm so good in fighting hand to hand. I didn't enjoy being mocked and when Samuel just did it, it sent me over.

"You want me to take her from you huh?" I growled, not even aware that my own voice sounded somewhat inhuman.

"THEN HERE I COME!!"

Then suddenly, I took off. My body was now moving on its own. It all happened so fast that I can barely recall it. I charged at Samuel who was sipping away at his wine with not a care in the world. His plants burst from the ground to oppose me, but I simply tore through them with the dagger that Rose gave me. All I could see was red.

I was getting closer towards the vampire now and he was beginning to notice. Suddenly, that stone flower that Rose mentioned suddenly spat out a grey ball at me. I then suddenly felt something wrap around my waist and yank me away just as the ball splattered in front of me, turning a patch of grass into pavement. I landed on my on my butt beside Rose.

I suddenly realized that my anger was completely gone. All that I felt now was fear and confusion.

_What just happened?_

"Daisuke? Are you alright?" she asked. She seemed as confused as I was.

"Y-Yeah," I answered.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes as my head lowered.

"What was that?" Rose asked.

"I dunno."

I replayed the moment that just happened in my head…well I tried to, but I was unable to remember exactly what happen. I just remember someone talking to me. It wasn't Samuel. This voice told me t o do something that I normally wouldn't think of.

"_Kill"_

Who was it? I didn't recognize the voice, but inwardly I knew exactly who it was. For the first time in a while, I became afraid.

_What is happening to me?_

My thoughts were interrupted by a sinister chuckling. I looked up and glared at Samuel.

"That was very interesting," he said. "Maybe I shouldn't take you so lightly. Then again from the look of things, it doesn't seem like you're able to do it again."

I grabbed the dagger sitting next to me as I stood up. Whatever happened wouldn't happen again.

_I wouldn't want it to anyway._

Rose stared at me warily. I guess she was a little afraid too.

"I'm fine now Rose," I assured her. "If you got a plan, I want to hear it now."

Her expression didn't change and she didn't say anything for a moment. I was beginning to worry that she'd run away from me.

"Okay Daisuke," she finally said. "You're right, I do have a plan. But you're gonna have to trust me."

"Right," I answered, nodding.

She then leaned in and began whispering into my ear. Though it was very long for I pushed her away just as violet colored barbs zipped past us. I then crawled behind a nearby decorative stone for cover. I didn't know what had happened to Rose, but I hoped that she was alright. I then heard Samuel speaking again.

"Sorry about that," he said. "My plants are a bit hungry."

_Damn._

I was at a loss. Rose had only whispered part of the plan to me and now she was no place I could see her. I was going to have to improvise. I peeked around the small boulder to see flytraps standing out of the ground just as I predicted. They would be harmless as long as I didn't touch them.

_But so many…_

Suddenly, I saw a large white bird gliding towards the flytraps. I smirked.

…_Rose._

I ran behind the bird as it began slicing the stems of the plants. If my guess was right, it was heading straight for Samuel. With the knife ready, I sped up and jumped from the tail of the bird—

--as Samuel jumped into the air to avoid it.

His eyes widened when he saw me. There was no way that he was dodging this.

_Game over Samuel! _I thought.

Just then, a vine wrapped around his waist and yanked him downward and into some kind of pod plant.

"What the—"

Just before I could finish that thought, a giant white bird grabbed me with its talons and flew the opposite direction just as something shot out from the pod. Everything happened so fast that I didn't get to see what it was. Whatever it was, it nicked the bird's tail, causing it to drop me. I landed just as Rose ran towards me. I looked towards where Samuel had disappeared, to see some gigantic plant, clenching its steak-knife teeth in a gnarly grin.

"So you've even given him your family's treasured weapon," we heard Samuel said. "I guess I no longer have any reason to hold back."

The flower's jaws parted open, revealing a green deformed Samuel, fused to it.

"It looks like the plan's changed," I remarked.

"Yes," Rose answered. "It seems so."

Just then, the gray flower bud from earlier sprayed what seemed like a tidal wave of petrifaction putty. I thought we were pretty screwed at first, but then we were suddenly protected by some kind of dome. Rose then turned to me.

"Daisuke, I'm sure that the barrier won't last long," she said.

As soon as she did, we began hearing pounding on the outer side of the dome. I grimaced.

"I guess we're going to have to attack him close up," I muttered.

But that was easier said than done. His obvious size aside, his defenses had grown in size and his attack range had lengthened. He could probably kill us on the other side of the greenhouse if he wanted to. Suddenly, I began thinking about the two white birds from earlier. Rose had been behind both of them, so an idea came to mind.

"Okay, I'll do it."

As expected, Rose stared at me as if I had just grown another head.

"You can fight from long ranges right?" I asked her.

"Yes I can, but—"

"Then you can cover me," I interjected. "Don't worry, it'll work."

She still looked a little reluctant. She then closed her eyes.

"Very well," she said, sounding somewhat defeated. "I'm letting down the barrier, so get ready."

I nodded as I turned away from her, into the direction where Samuel was most likely waiting. I almost didn't notice that the banging had stopped. Rose then hurled the dome barrier, which had been turned to stone, at the Samuel flower. The head lurched backwards at the impact and I took that as an opportunity to dash towards it with my knife ready. Unfortunately, Samuel must've seen me coming for I was blindsided by a thick vine. I flew a few yards before slamming into the grass. Just then, I felt something wrap around my leg and soon found myself being dragged along the ground. I thought to try and free myself, but I was so disoriented that I couldn't move too much. I looked back to see Rose get taken out by a vine as well. It didn't seem like she could help me now.

_It looks like I'm screwed _I mused.

However, something happened. I just so happen to look towards Samuel's table only to see what remained of it. I figured that he had crushed it when he transformed. I was able to regain enough of my senses to grab a nearby broken table leg as I passed by. Before I knew it, I was hoisted into the air and up to the head of the plant. I was able to conceal my new item as those jaws parted open, revealing Samuel's hideous form. I glared at him as he began to chuckle. He grabbed me by my head to keep me from swinging.

"I am going to drain you of all that delicious blood," he said. "Any last words, human?"

At this point, there were only two words that I wanted to say to him.

"Fuck…you!"

With the energy I had left, I pulled out the wooden stake and went to stab him in his chest—

--only to have him catch my hand before it reached its target.

"Heh, heh…Nice try," he sneered.

Suddenly, his eyes widened. He looked down to see my knife embedded in his chest. The vine's grip around my leg suddenly vanished and I was now hurling towards the ground face first. I managed to twist my body so that I landed on my feet. However when I did, the force of my fall still had me eating grass anyway. I listened as the flower shrilled in agony as it began to burn away. A small smile appeared on my face as I stared at the wooden stake in my hand.

_Saved by a broken table leg again _I thought, recalling my encounter with Bulleta and the Cerberus' she had sent after me.

My smile faded and I grimaced at the wound on my arm. There was a gash with blood trickling down from it.

_Eh, it's just a scratch._

Personally, I thought it was kind of odd that after fighting a vampire, this is the only wound that I walk away with other than the damage I took when I was slammed to the ground. I stare at the wound a little longer before sensing Rose's presence behind me.

"You did it Daisuke," she murmured.

I smiled as I turned around to her.

"No, we did it," I corrected. "I really couldn't have done it without you. Thanks."

Instead of a smile in return, Rose was staring at me with eyes wide. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that her hand was trembling.

"Hey Rose, are you alr—"

She quickly turned around, facing away from me.

"I'm fine," she quickly answered.

"Are you—"

"Why don't you go check on Miss Morrigan?"

I was taken back by her sudden outburst.

"…Please…" she murmured.

I continued staring at her back. There was clearly something wrong with her that she wasn't telling me, but I decided to have her tell me about it later. I turned and ran towards the tree where Morrigan was being held. As I ran, I noticed that all of Samuels plants, normal or otherwise, were beginning to wither and fall apart. I then saw the vines that held Morrigan in place had crumbled to pieces and left her falling. I quickly found myself sliding under her and she landed roughly in my arms.

_Well that hurt._

I quickly recovered and sat up the green-haired succubus against the tree as I knelt down next to her.

"Hey Morrigan," I said gently to her. _C'mon snap out of it._

She didn't respond.

"Morrigan," I said again.

This time, her eyes twitched as she groaned. I smiled as her eyes cracked open.

"Daisuke…" she murmured.

"Yeah, It's me," I said, nodding.

She gave me a small smile, which actually made me realize something.

"You probably still can't move due to the toxin," I said. I turned around to call Rose over—

--Only to find no one there.

I looked around, confused. Where did my vampire friend run off to?

_Why did she seem like she was afraid of me earlier?_

My confusion was then suddenly replaced by surprise when a hand appeared in front of me.

Morrigan was reaching for me.

I turned to her and she placed her hand on my cheek.

"I'll be alright," she said. "My body can flush out poison on its own."

She removed her hand and then attempted to stand, but her legs gave out before she could even lift herself from the ground. She gave me a sheepish smile.

"I guess my body is taking longer to heal than I thought," she said.

Her smile then suddenly faded and she looked at my arm in alarm.

"Daisuke, you're injured."

"It's nothing serious," I replied.

"I'm sure, but having this kind of injury in this castle is dangerous."

"…Well, since you put it that way…"

I looked at my arm, before pulling out a small first aid kit from my pocket. This was turning out to be some camping trip. I quickly cleaned the wound and wrapped it up before turning to Morrigan.

"Are you injured anywhere?" I asked.

Morrigan looked at me somewhat surprised at first, before smiling and shaking her head. I then turned around.

"C'mon, let's get out of here before anything else holds us up."

She seemed reluctant at first, but then climbed onto my back. I began to navigate my way through the greenhouse. Since the barrier was still up, Morrigan had to regain her strength the old fashioned way. She wouldn't be too much help if anything else showed up and I still needed her so I couldn't leave behind. Rose had disappeared without a trace so I was on my own for the time being.

"Doesn't get any better than this," I grumbled.


	28. Demon Ball : Chapter 1

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It would be awhile before I got us out of the greenhouse.

Earlier, Morrigan had tried assuring me that most of her strength had returned and was able to walk. However when she tried, she had only proven that she would've only fallen over if I hadn't been there to catch her. Once again, she was on my back, but this time she was fast asleep.

My search for a place for Morrigan to recover had brought me into a long dark hall. Portraits of people hung along the walls and large stone gargoyles sat at corners of the hall. I figured that this was a gallery of some kind. It wasn't too different from the corridor near the entrance of the castle.

Apparently, this Demitri guy had a thing for art.

My mind didn't stay on the statue for long, for sudden movement drew my attention towards the dark corners of the gallery.

We weren't alone.

I turned to run towards the other direction, but was stopped by a low growl from that way. Unfortunately, I knew that sound a little too well.

_Aw hell!_

It was those zombies again.

I quickly began looking around for a quick exit. Fortunately, I remembered the pair of double doors passed earlier when I looked at the statues. After repositioning Morrigan on my back, I made a beeline for the doors and prayed that they weren't locked. I found my prayers answered when I opened one of them and stepped inside. I sat Morrigan down and quietly closed the door behind me.

Although the zombies didn't seem to be following me, I still looked for something to barricade the door with. What I found was a large statue of an owl with wings that were spread out as if it were going to fly away. I pushed it in front of the door despite how heavy it was. After I finished my chore, I sat down next to Morrigan and gave her an annoyed look.

_How can she sleep through all of that?_ I wondered.

My expression soon changed when I thought about her situation.

There was a barrier present here so it kept her from using all of her powers as well as recovering quickly. If she wanted to be back on her feet then she would need as much rest as possible. In the meantime, I would go check out this room that I hid us in.

My first and only guess was a library, seeing how there were numerous bookshelves present. It wasn't a small room library, but a grand library were many people can go and read books if they wished.

Demitri apparently really liked to read.

I soon found myself in the center of the library beneath a large chandelier. In front of me was a long window that stretched towards the ceiling. It gave me a view of another courtyard as well as the blood red moon that I saw when I entered the castle. I grimaced after noticing the position of the moon.

_Crap, it's that late?_

The moon was getting higher into the night sky. It was almost midnight.

Jun was running out of time.

I turned around to head back to Morrigan. I was certain that she was still sleeping where I left her.

"Daisuke…"

I halted at the sound of the voice and looked around. Where did it come from? How did it know my name?

"Welcome to my domain," it said. "I am impressed that you made it this far."

I clicked my tongue. Did I run into another powerful vampire? Jeez, I had just finished licking the wounds I go from the last one.

"Who're you?" I called out. This voice sounded a little familiar.

"Come to where I am."

"How the hell do I do that?" I asked.

Just then, the chandelier light went out and I was left in darkness. Only the moonlight dimly lit the space I was in.

_Aw great._

When I had looked around, I noticed that the library seemed very different in the dark. I was almost convinced that the bookshelves had changed places and the room had shifted itself around, but that wasn't my main concern.

_How am I supposed to find Morrigan now?_

Though I'm sure she wouldn't admit it, she was in no condition to fight right now and I couldn't afford to leave her alone.

I needed her help.

During my distress, I almost didn't notice the dim ball of light, shining a few yards from where I was standing. The way that it bobbed around was mesmerizing, almost as if it were calling out to me.

I chased after it as it disappeared around the bookshelf. I followed the light into what I knew was a labyrinth of bookshelves but I didn't care. Maybe if I confronted the vampire myself, I'd be able to keep the attention off Morrigan. I still had the silver dagger after all.

The dim ball of light led me through numerous twists and turns of the dark library's labyrinth. It rounded another corner and then began to glow even brighter.

I got the feeling that this was the last one.

I turned on the last corner to see a girl sitting at a small table, reading by candlelight. She was in a long red dress and her long blonde pigtails nearly touched the floor. Her eyes were blood red and had black slits in them. She appeared no older than me.

This was no doubt the vampire I was looking for.

I tilted my head at the girl. For the moment, she didn't seem in the least bit interested in me as she was in her book.

"You made it," she said passively. "Just as I thought you would."

I narrowed my eyes. This vampire was beginning to sound familiar.

"You were expecting me?"

She closed her book before leaning forward, placing her hands over her crossed legs.

"After defeating Samuel, William and the others are buzzing about you," she said, smiling.

Just then, it dawned on me.

"Rose?" I said incredulously. "Is that you?"

The girl chuckled.

"Of course it's me," she said. "You're oddly slow tonight."

I grimaced at the insult. Clearly this wasn't the meek vampire girl that we met earlier.

"How is Miss Morrigan?"

"She's recovering," I said.

Actually, I was wondering if that was the right way to describe it. It was the best way that I could put it. Rose stood up.

"I see you've patched yourself up as well."

I raised an eyebrow at her. My bandage was inside my shirt, not visible to anyone. How did she know I patched up my wounds?

"You did quite well," she said. "I cannot smell any blood at all."

Suddenly, it became clear to me. So this is what Morrigan was talking about when she said having this sort of wound was dangerous. This castle was crawling with vampires and they probably did smell my blood which explains why those zombies were wandering around in the gallery. The reason why she couldn't smell any blood now was because my wound probably already healed. Lately, my wounds healed faster than usual; a constant reminder of my origin.

"Is that why you disappeared; because you smelled my blood?"

It made sense since she was a vampire.

She turned and smiled at me.

"You're rather perceptive," she said.

She turned away from me.

"I didn't want to succumb to my thirst for blood. I want to keep what's left of my humanity for as long as I can."

I nodded in understanding. Silenced reigned over us as I looked around.

"Does Demitri actually read any of these books?" I asked merely for conversation.

Rose shook her head.

"Actually, these books all contain Zeltzereich's pasts," she replied. "Aside from a number of the castle's chores, I'm also responsible for recording Zeltzereich's history. I'm a chronicler."

I looked at her in disbelief.

"You wrote all of these?"

"No, I only wrote a few of these. The rest came from the chroniclers before me."

I looked at the bookshelf curiously.

"Does that mean the Morrigan was recorded in these books?" I asked out loud.

"Lady Morrigan is mentioned in quite a number of these."

"I see…"

Morrigan definitely had a history of her own in this castle. It caused me to wonder about the relationship this guy had with Morrigan. Although she flatly denied it, I wondered if at one point were they actually lovers.

"I'm curious Mr. Inoa."

I looked at her.

"You can call me Daisuke y'know."

Her expression was serious.

"How far are you willing to go for Jun?" she asked.

"As far as I need to," I answered. "I won't let her be turned into a vampire."

Rose stared at me for a moment before saying…

"I want to test that resolve."

Suddenly, a sheet of paper floated between us. Soon, another sheet appeared, then another. Soon, there were swarms of paper swirling around Rose. I took a step back after realizing what was happening.

"Wait Rose, I don't want to fight you!"

"If you don't fight, then I will kill you where you stand."

She began levitating.

"And then you'll never get to Jun," she added.

Just then, I dove to the side as what appeared to be a lance slammed into the floor where I was just standing.

_She's serious!_

The main reason why I didn't want to fight Rose was because I considered her to be our only ally inside this castle. The other reason was because fighting vampires was difficult.

My battle with Samuel was proof of that.

Suddenly, something in me told me to run. I heeded the command without hesitation and with good reason.

Multiple white blades of different sizes began appearing in the bookshelf I was hiding against. She was trying to impale me through the bookshelves!

_Crap, crap, crap, crap!_

I ran frantically through the library hoping to find a spot to hide until I came up with a plan to subdue Rose. Unfortunately whenever I did find a place where I thought I was safe, I was attacked by more pale white weapons. It was then when I heard Rose's voice echo throughout the room.

"Didn't I say this already?" she asked. "This is my domain. There is no place for you to run."

I knew she wasn't speaking out of arrogance. I abandoned my retreat strategy and navigated my way towards the center of the library to wait for her to come find me. It was the only thing I could think of at the moment. Soon, I spotted her figure drawing towards me.

"I'm impressed that you've evaded my attacks for this long," she said. "And in this darkness too. Are you truly human?"

"Can't say for sure," I answered truthfully.

"Regardless, it seems like you're used to fighting like this."

I snorted.

_That's because it's all I've been doing lately!_

"I wouldn't be surprised if you figured out my method of attack you by now. Getting away from the bookshelves was a wise strategy."

"I have a guess," I replied.

And if I was right, then water or fire would be the best way to beat her.

Now if only I had either.

"Well then, I guess I can't afford to go easy on you, can I?"

Paper began swirling around her again. I readied myself as I drew my dagger. Her attack was coming and it looked like it was going to be big.

"Oh hell."

Rose was about to use one of the biggest attacks in her arsenal and I didn't have a plan on how to counter it. It was like being caught outside with my pants down. I was down shit's creek without a paddle.

Just when things were looking bad however, some _thing_ appeared out of no where right between us. It was big, bulky, and it appeared to be made out of stone. It definitely caught me and Rose by surprise.

It let out a piercing roar.


	29. Demon Ball : Chapter 2

**At long last, I've finished this chapter after much debate on how to end it. When I wasn't adding chapters to Supernatural, I did go throught the story and made a few revisions, such as naming some of the arcs as well as giving Chapter 4 a revised ending. Well, not much more to say about it. Here's the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it.**

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"Now what?"

I stared in confusion at the entity in front of me. Its large form was nothing less of what anyone would describe as a monster. It's demonic like form and wings sort of reminded me of the gargoyle statues that I passed earlier. Realization soon dawned on me as I began to notice its stone-like exterior.

_Scratch that! That is the gargoyle statue I passed earlier._

Panic began to overtake me after this new revelation. I only had that silver dagger used for killing vampires. I didn't have anything that could destroy stone. Unless my shoes or foul language could do the job, I was pretty screwed.

Just then, something crashed into the stone creature. What shocked me more was that whatever ran into it, pulverized it, crumbling it to pieces.

"What would you do without me?"

I smiled at the familiar voice.

"Not much," I said.

Morrigan's back.

"I wouldn't have made it this far if you weren't here."

Suddenly, Morrigan appeared behind me and had wrapped her arms around me, placing her chin on my shoulder.

"You've gotten a bit sweeter from the first time that we met," she whispered.

I smirked.

"I wouldn't show off if I were you," I said. "You remember what happened the last time you ran out of power?"

"You're no fun," she huffed.

I grinned. It was good to have her back.

"Um pardon me…"

I looked towards Rose who at the moment seemed somewhat annoyed with us.

"I hate to disrupt your reunion, but…"

Suddenly, more of those statues began to appear. A demonic dog statue landed behind Rose while another winged gargoyle separated her from us. Morrigan and I separated just as the statue lunged at us, swiping at us with its huge claws. After rolling, I looked back to see Morrigan jump back onto the statue's back. A large black drill formed around her hand and she slammed it into the gargoyle's head, shattering pieces of rock everywhere and then continued on with the main body. I then looked over to see how Rose was doing. She leapt onto the dog's back. Large shreds of paper shot out from her sleeve and embed themselves into the statue. They appeared to dig themselves deeper and deeper until cracks began to appear all throughout the dog. Soon, the living statue crumbled.

Just when I thought it was over, something suddenly blew through the bookshelf in front of me and slammed into me hard. Despite all that, I managed to wrap my arms and legs around it.

"Daisuke!"

Morrigan, who had just happened to see this, called out my name. I looked up to see her about to come to my aid when another large gargoyle statue dropped down behind her.

"Behind you!"

Morrigan whirled around to face the giant. It smashed into Morrigan with its huge claws, sending her flying across the room. It was about that time when I realized what I was clutching onto.

The head of a demonic dog statue.

The statue jerked its head in different directions, attempting to shake me off. Eventually, it did get me off. I flew into the air and landed on something on my back. Ignoring my injuries for the moment, I flipped over and found out exactly what I had landed on. I was now, on the demonic dog's back.

_Aw crap, _I thought, bracing myself for more pain that I knew was to come.

There was a crack in the stone behemoth's back. I took the knife and slammed the blade inside. I don't know why I did, but it just seemed like a good idea at the time.

Luckily for me, it worked. The blade was firmly inside the crack.

Suddenly, I felt like I was in a rodeo as the statue began bucking and kicking, trying to get me off as I held on to the knife for dear life. As I did, webs of cracks began forming across the statue's back. Just then, some black form—that I had guessed was Morrigan--blindsided it, shattering it to pieces and sending me sprawling onto the floor.

Suddenly, things were quiet again.

Rubbing my head, I looked around. There were stones everywhere, but not a moving statue in sight. I sighed, looking towards the floor where the knife lay. I picked it up and stared at it.

_This is no ordinary knife _I mused.

"Are you alright Daisuke?"

I looked up to see Morrigan kneel down next to me and gave her a nod. Just then, we were alerted by a noise sounding from the darkness. I groaned

_Aw, gimme a break. What now?!_

It was like one thing after another in this castle. Couldn't we ever get a break?

We both whirled around to see a figure step into the moonlight, clapping his hands.

"William," Morrigan deadpanned.

The elderly vampire didn't seem fazed by the succubus' greeting.

"Bravo milady," he said, smiling. "Bravo."

"I take it that you were the one who released those creatures on us?" Morrigan asked.

"Perceptive as always," William answered.

My eyes narrowed. I was beginning to like this guy less and less.

"What is it that you want?" Morrigan asked.

"I've come to inform you that we will give you back your friend."

My eyes widened in surprise. Did this mean that it was finally over? We'll be able to walk out of here with Jun in tow?

"But that means you admit to lying to us earlier," I growled.

"Milady, I really recommend that you get a muzzle for your pet," William hissed in response.

I glared at him and made a reach for the knife when a hand suddenly grabbed my wrist.

It was Rose.

She shook her head looked at me as if saying to keep the knife hidden. I couldn't argue with her.

"William, didn't I tell you earlier," Morrigan said collectively. She then looked at me with a smile.

"He's my companion."

William of course, snorted and raised an arm into a shrug.

"Yes, of course," he said, passively.

"And you know that I cannot overlook your lie earlier," Morrigan said to him dangerously. "Is she still human? Has she been bitten?"

"I assure you, she is still human," William answered. "She is also unharmed."'

I sighed as a sense of relief traveled through my body. Jun was alright and she would be coming back with us.

My only concern was…

"What's the catch?" I asked suspiciously.

Right then, the vampire smirked.

"You merely have to attend a party that we're having."

Morrigan and I looked at each other surprised, not knowing how to react.

"Your friend—that is, Jun—will be attending our masquerade ball this evening," William added. "We only insist that you attend as well."

"A masquerade ball?"

I was torn. I was skeptical, but I really wanted to believe him. This was a chance to get my best friend back safely and possibly walk away from this nightmare. I heard William chuckle.

"Rose, will take care of you," he said, turning and walking away. "I look forward to seeing you at the ball."

* * *

Later, Rose led Morrigan and me into separate rooms in order to get ready for the ball. I soon found myself inside some wardrobe room. Rose had measured me then disappeared for a few minutes then came back and delivered a black tuxedo before disappearing again. During that whole time, she said nothing about the exchange that we had with William earlier. As I began to change, I heard someone walk up to the wardrobe room.

"How are you doing in there?"

It was Morrigan.

"I'm alright," I answered. "And what about you, aren't you supposed to—"

I suddenly remembered who I was talking to.

"Never mind."

I heard her chuckle. I guessed that she had caught on to what I was about to ask her. I shook my head as I picked up the dress shirt and put it on.

"So what do you think?" Morrigan asked. "Finally getting Jun back?"

"It seems too good to be true," I answered truthfully. "If we really do get her back, then I don't think it'll be any easier for us to get out of here."

"I don't like it."

She said it quietly, but I heard it.

I didn't blame her.

It almost seemed far too easy and I was in fact very suspicious.

But it was our only chance to bringing Jun home.

Normally, Morrigan seemed ecstatic about walking straight into traps while saying things like, "it is fun." This was the first time that I ever heard her sound so grim about it. Maybe she was worried because of the handicap that was put on her.

I soon put on my tailed coat and exited the wardrobe room out to where Morrigan was waiting, standing against the wall next to the door. She hadn't changed yet.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to know how to tie on a bowtie would you?" I asked her sheepishly.

Morrigan pushed off the door and turned towards me. I handed her the material and took a step closer to her as her arms when over my head then came down onto my shoulders. I raised my chin and stared at the wall as she wrapped the tie around my collar and went to work. A few seconds in, I caught myself glancing down at her as she tied my tie.

She seemed to be enjoying it.

"I hope we get Jun back."

I looked down at her to see her wearing a rueful smile.

"I hope we do too."

* * *

After Morrigan had finished my bowtie, Rose escorted me to another foyer much like the one near the entrance. Unlike the entrance however, there was a huge stair case covered in red carpet leading up to a large pair of double doors at the top. She then left me there with a mask similar to what the phantom of the opera wore and had told me that it would keep me safe for the time being.

I certainly hoped that she was right.

Stood there waiting as numerous couples passed me and climbed the stairs into the ballroom. Rose had told me that on some nights, the castle held events like these and invited guests from all over the world. To me, that meant that all of these guests were darkstalkers…

…or they were all human.

The thought of warning them what they were getting themselves into had crossed my mind. I only kept quiet because I thought it would jeopardize my chance at getting Jun back.

"Were you waiting long?"

I pulled from my thoughts and turned to see a masked woman standing behind me. She wore a violet ball gown that had bat designs embroidered around the hem of her dress. When I noticed the long green hair, my eyes widened.

"Morrigan?"

She placed a finger over her lips, shushing me.

"I know I look gorgeous, but don't get me away," she said. "This is a masquerade ball y'know."

I stared blankly for a moment before smiling and shaking my head. I held my hand to her.

"Shall we?"

She smirked in response and took my hand.

* * *

The ballroom was safe to say, the brightest room within castle Zeltzereich. It had—when I thought about it—the most windows, with several of them surrounding the room.

It also had another long flight of stairs descending downward into the ballroom.

_Oh great, more stairs._

Morrigan interlocked her arm with mine and we descended the stairs together.

"Demitri occasionally holds events like these to draw humans to the castle," Morrigan whispered.

I was right about the human theory, but it was something that I already knew.

"Not everyone leaves here," she added.

However, I didn't know that. Then again, it would explain where Demitri's servants came from.

"Does he take them?"

"No, some of them, mainly women choose to stay here to serve him willingly."

I scowled at that. Human beings were submitting themselves to darkness which was unsurprising to me. It also reminded me of our other situation.

We still had ARC to deal with.

Soon, Morrigan and I reached the sea of people mingling with one another. Many of them women there wore ball gowns of many color as well as designs as their masks came in different shapes, shades, and sizes. This was definitely a masquerade ball.

Finding Jun was going to be harder than I thought.

Morrigan and I went and stood by the windows as we took in the scene. I took the chance to glance out the window.

The moon was still blood red, but it no longer held that ominous glow from before. Judging from how high it was, I guessed that it was merely three more hours before midnight. I felt a little relieved that I would see Jun here tonight.

"Hey Daisuke, look over there," Morrigan suddenly said to me.

I looked towards the stairway, where she was pointing and noticed to figures entering. One of them was William. The other was a young woman with her arm interlocked with his. She was dressed in an elegant lavender ball gown with a matching mask, concealing her identity. However, I knew who it was.

It was Jun.

* * *

**Well, it seems like Daisuke's finally getting a break. What happens next? Well, I'll let you know when I post the next chapter XD.....Don't lynch me!**


	30. Demon Ball : Chapter 3

**30**

**

* * *

**

_Jun…_

It was her. William had kept his word.

I felt a series of emotions as I watched him escort my childhood friend down the stairs.

_Finally, we can leave this place!_

Just then, I noticed music beginning to play. I heard a harpsichord and a number of other string instruments join in behind it, piecing together an elegant tune. One could easily lose themselves in the tune.

But I couldn't.

Instead, I was too focused on the pair at the stairway. There was a man in black waiting for them at the bottom. He was in the tailed-coat version of a tux. His identity was hidden behind a white cat-mask.

William handed Jun to him and he proceeded to lead her towards the center of the room; the dance floor. Their two forms disappeared into the river of other guests dancing to the tune. I stood there contemplating how I would get in contact with her until…

"Do you want to get closer?"

I looked at Morrigan questioningly. I then looked towards the dance floor and then back at her. It then dawned on me as I put two and two together.

"No, wait…I-I can't," I stammered, surprised that she even suggested such a thing.

She however, stared at me curiously.

"You can't what?"

My eyes widened. I realized she didn't verbalize her suggestion. I had said that without thinking and now she had me cornered.

"I…can't…" I lowered my voice. "……….."

Morrigan tilted her head.

"Huh?"

"I can't….."

"I can't hear you."

"Dance," I sighed. "I can't dance."

I was surprised to hear Morrigan giggle at me.

"Why didn't you just say so?" she asked. "I can teach you."

Morrigan then grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the dance floor before I could protest. We dodged some of the other pairs on the floor until we found ourselves a spot.

She interlocked one of her hands with one of mine and placed the other over my shoulders.

"Put your arm around me," she said.

Staring blankly, I awkwardly put my arm around her waist. Before I knew it, we were moving.

"Don't worry, just let me lead," she cooed.

I nodded slightly and let her guide me through all of the steps. My body went on auto-pilot as I soon became lost in my thoughts. I found myself thinking about less about the situation and noticed that I've begun to think more about the green-haired girl lately. She was important to me, I knew that already. Maybe I was beginning to see her in a new light.

Or maybe her succubus charm was finally starting to work on me.

"Daisuke…"

I jerked slightly at the sound of her voice.

"I'm going to let you lead now," she whispered.

I looked into her green eyes and she nodded at me, reminding me of our objective.

It also informed me that Jun was closer.

I soon felt Morrigan relinquish her control, leaving it to me and I took over, remembering my movements from earlier. We continued moving as we were before, the only difference was that I wasn't following Morrigan, it was Morrigan following me.

She chuckled.

"Wow Daisuke, you're a fast learner."

I smiled in response. At the moment, I wasn't sure if I had learned anything. I only mimicked what the other men round us were doing, that and making sure that I didn't mess up or step on Morrigan's feet.

And then, the music ended.

The other pairs separated and began applauding the musicians.

"That was great," Morrigan said, separating from me. "You learned to dance in a span of ten minutes."

"That's because I had you to teach me," I replied honestly. "Thank-you."

she smiled.

"You're welcome."

"Not just for that..."

Morrigan's smile faded as she looked at me quizzically.

"Thanks for everything," I said. "I couldn't have done it without you."

It was all I could say.

Morrigan stared at me with surprise written all over her features. Finally she turned away from me with her hands behind her back.

"You should get to Jun while you still have the chance."

I stared at for a moment, somewhat confused by her reaction to what I said. However, I decided to let it go for now and do what she said.

Besides, the sooner we get Jun back, the sooner we can get out of here.

I slipped through the numerous pairs and made it to my pink haired friend just as the musicians began playing another selection. She had decided to wear her hair straight down, something that I hadn't seen in years. Her elegant lavender ballgown left her shoulders bare.

_No bra?_

I shook my head of that thought for various reasons and tapped her on the shoulder. She seemed surprised to see me even though she was wearing a mask. I put on a smile as I held out my hand.

"May I have this dance milady?" I asked, using an accent.

With a smile, she took my hand and I walked her towards the center of the ballroom. We were soon dancing along with the rest of the pairs who remained on the floor. I was beginning to get a strange vibe from the people around us and I didn't like it.

"When did you learn to dance?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and focused my attention on the pink haired girl.

"Huh?"

"When you learn to dance?" Jun asked again. "You didn't know how before."

"I had someone teach me not too long ago," I answered. "Just thought I'd give it a try, y'know?"

"I see," Jun said, a smile growing on her face. "If it weren't for your hair, I probably wouldn't have recognized you. I like your mask."

"Thanks."

I don't know why, but I was beginning to feel the same strange vibe coming from Jun.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered, smiling warmly. "Thanks for coming to my rescue."

I nodded and returned her smile. The feeling was still there, but I chalked it up as to just being my imagination.

And then I saw it.

A few feet away from us was a mirror stretching from the floor to about half the size of this room. It was clean and it reflected everything that was in the room.

….Almost everything.

_No, it couldn't be._

"Hey Daisuke, are you okay?"

I quickly put on a poker face and looked down at Jun.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine."

I winced.

_Oh yeah, that was totally convincing, _I thought dryly.

"Tell me, what's on your mind."

"I was just thinking how we're going to get out of here," I answered.

Jun had this uncanny ability to see through my lies.

Good thing that really was what I was thinking about.

"So, what happened to you?" I asked her. "How'd you end up in a place like this?"

"Well... while we were on our way back to camp, this weird fog appeared and I got separated from May. Next thing I knew, I was here."

"What about Riku?" I asked.

"I hadn't seen him since earlier today."

it seemed like Jun really was the only one who made it here and that was a relief.

"Did they do anything to you?"

"Just locked me in some bedroom while feeding me every once in a while."

"I see," I replied. "Do you mind answering one more question?"

"I thought it was weird of you to ask me so many in the first place," Jun said pulling closer to me. "But go ahead."

"Do you remember that night when we first kissed?"

I honestly had no idea why I asked this question. It was an intimate question that only my ex-girlfriend would have the answer to. We had talked about it before but this time, I thought I'd be the one to ask.

"What brought this on all of a sudden?" Jun asked, chuckling.

"Just answer the question."

I kept my smile up, but it was getting more difficult to keep my anxiety in check as I anxiously waited for her answer.

"Yes," she said finally.

"Do you remember what you said afterward?"

she sighed before answering.

"I told you that it wasn't bad for a first kiss."

I smiled in relief at my realization.

"...You're pretty good," I said. "You almost had me completely fooled."

The pink haired girl chuckled as she drew a little closer.

"Oh dear," she said. "I had a feeling that I'd get that one wrong. Are you always this cautious?"

"No. I just thought I'd make an exception for you."

"What gave me away I wonder?"

I remained silent as I guided her through the dance so that my back was to the mirror. I had her glance over my shoulder.

She chuckled.

"I'll have to remember that next time," she said. "So, what happens now? I'm close enough to drink your blood. You're rather handsome, so killing you would be a waste. How 'bout I turn you into one of us?"

"I'm gonna pass on that."

without waiting for a response, I pulled away from her to see her horrified expression of the dire mistake she had made. With the flick of a wrist, I had plunged the silver dagger into her heart. I grabbed it before she dispersed into ash.

_Well that's one down..._

I turned around to see an entire roomful of couples turned towards me. They all revealed their fangs as they hissed at me.

_Just a ballroom-ful more to go..._I thought dryly. "Oh hell."

I readied myself as a male vampire lunged at me.

Luckily for me however, he was impaled from behind by an unnaturally long black spear. Soon, the entire room was filled with black spears, zigzagging throughout the room, impaling numerous vampires.

"Daisuke!"

I spotted Morrigan standing next to a pair of double doors at the other end of the room. She had quickly formed a path for me leading to her.

Without thinking about it, I sprinted towards the door as multiple vampires exploded into dust. Morrigan released more spears, some around me, to keep other vampires from stopping me. I soon ran past her and bashed through the doors into a kitchen area. It didn't even occur to me how odd it was to see vampires catering normal food to other vampires.

One of the waiters grabbed my arm. Automatically, I turned and slugged him with a right hook. I remembered dad saying that a strong chin-check would floor any _NORMAL _man. Still, it must have been some punch since it sent him stumbling towards the door where Morrigan awaited him. A drill formed around her hand and she drove it through the vampire, lifting him into the air before unceremoniously dropping him.

Suddenly, another waiter grabbed me from behind. I managed to drive my elbow right between his eyes. His grasp on me disappeared and I grabbed his head and slammed it on the corner of the counter in front of me.

I looked up just to see a chef fling a meat cleaver my direction and swayed sidewards to avoid it, causing it to stick into the wall behind me. Morrigan plucked the cleaver from the wall and promptly flung it, returning it to the chef. The blade found its mark in the vampire's forehead. I didn't allow myself to feel impressed. I heard the other vampires behind us and grabbed Morrigan by her hand before pulling her along.

* * *

It was some time before we gained some distance between us and the freaks. Morrigan and I found ourselves in a very fancy hallway with no windows in sight. I yanked off my bow tie and threw it to the floor as Morrigan closed the doors behind us. She placed her head against the door to listen for movement as I retired to a nearby bench.

"I think we lost them."

Good. That gave us another opportunity to rest.

I heard Morrigan sigh.

"This is the first time I've ran so much in my life," she said. "I wish this barrier wasn't here."

I ran my hands through my hair, thinking about that vampire I killed back in the ballroom. She looked so much like Jun.

_It wasn't her...it wasn't her..._I chanted in my head.

It helped a little, but she looked so much like her that it was traumatizing. Not only that, a lot of time was wasted getting ready for that masquerade party that turned out to be a trap as well as escaping the trap.

"Dammit! What am I gonna do?" I growled.

* * *

**At long last, another update to Supernatural. And it's about time too. I've got some ideas for the next chapter scribbled down.....somewhere. Hopefully the next update will come sooner. Until then...Hope you enjoyed the update.**


	31. Desolate Theatre: Chapter 1

**31**

* * *

"Daisuke, Are you okay?"

I sighed deeply and looked upward at the ceiling, before turning to Morrigan. I gave her a small smile.

"Yeah, I'm okay."

Still, seeing Jun's double and stabbing her shook me pretty hard. Their faces were identical so I didn't take stabbing my best friend too well. Fortunately, feeling angry at the amount of time we lost in that ballroom kept me together. I still had to save her. We were just going to have to play it smart and speed up.

"What about you?" I asked Morrigan. "How're you holding up?"

"I'm fine," she replied curtly.

I gave her an odd glance for her response, but then shrugged it off. If she said she was fine, the she was fine I guess.

I stood up.

"We've lost a bit of time back there," I said, stretching.

Morrigan smirked.

"So we should try to make up for lost time?" she asked.

"You think you can manage that?"

"Can you?"

I chuckled at her response. If she was able to respond daringly like that then there was still quite a bit of fight in her.

But I've been wrong before.

"Yeah, let's—huh?"

I stared in surprise as I watched Morrigan's eyes suddenly widened and she stumbled towards the wall with a hand on her temple. Her other hand landed flat on the wall so that she could maintain her balance. I rushed to her side, placing a hand on her back so in case that she nearly collapses again. She stays that way for a few moments with labored breathing. Soon, her hands drop to her side and she stands up straight again.

"Morrigan…?"

I move my hand from her back to her shoulder. As if in response to my touch, she slowly turned towards me. Her eyes had turned to their violet color and I scowled at the far-off look she gave me.

It was as if she was under a trance.

"Hey, are you really…?"

Before I could finish my sentence, she lunged at me, tackling me to the ground as she threw her arms around me. I hissed sharply when my head hit the floor.

_What the heck was that for?_

Just then, Morrigan slowly sat up. I became somewhat worried as I noticed an odd smile spread across her face as she looked down at me. It was around this time that I realized that she was now straddling me.

"M-Morrigan? What're you-?"

With a chuckle, she placed her index finger over my lips, silencing me. She begins to lean in, lowering her face towards mine. She gazes into my eyes and I become lost in them.

_N-No…_

My body soon stops listening to me and I find myself unable to put up any kind of resistance. She removed her finger, knowing that I could no longer protest.

_No…don't…do this…._

She's very close now. I can feel her breath gently caressing my lips.

_STOP…MORRIGAN!_

And as if hearing my thoughts, she stops barely an inch from my face. She blinks a few times. I notice her eyes had returned to their usual green color. She seems aware of herself again. It was then that her eyes suddenly widened in realization and she jumps off of me. I feel my body responding to my commands again and sat up to see the green haired girl sitting, staring in horror at the floor, most likely at what had just occurred. Without a word, I stand up and approach her and extend a hand. Her panicked expression turned to that of surprise. Then, her face grew passive. Pushing my hand aside, she stood up on her own and turned away from me.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I'm not sure what came over me."

I wasn't sure either, but I had a pretty good guess. I stared at her back sadly as she began walking off without another word.

_Morrigan, you're suffering aren't you?_

* * *

A few minutes went by as I followed her in silence. The hall seemed to go on forever and it didn't seem like we were getting anywhere.

"Where the heck are we anyway?" I asked aloud.

We had been in this hallway for awhile now. We had passed numerous double doors to our left, but nothing had changed really all that much.

Morrigan then suddenly turned towards another pair of doors and pushed them both open. The room was dark, but that wasn't a problem for me. My eyes widened in awe at the sight of a massive auditorium. It was desolate and had some evidence of lack of use, but other than that it seemed well taken care of.

But it still had that haunting feeling.

Yet, Morrigan began walking down the aisle undaunted.

Before I can say anything, she spoke up.

"We can't go back the way we came," she said. "So there's probably another way out through here."

I couldn't argue with that. There were vampires roaming around where we came in and there weren't any other exits in that hallway so this was our only option. Besides, there was a good chance those vampires would catch up to us.

Needless to say, I jogged down the aisle to catch up with Morrigan.

Now that I was in the theatre, it looked far much bigger than it was when I was only peering inside. It was dark, but it wasn't an issue thanks to my abnormal night vision. There seemed to be thousands of seats, not counting the numerous box seats sand the balcony section. Demitri must've enjoyed watching plays. After exploring his castle a little, I was beginning to see this Demitri guy as another powerfully rich guy except with vampires, zombies, and who knew what else running around the castle.

Morrigan and I soon reached the stage. Oddly enough, curiosity got the better of us and we went to the center of the stage and looked at towards the auditorium. I for one was already awed by its massive size. Unexpectedly, Morrigan seemed to be impressed too.

"Have you ever been here?" I asked.

"No…" Morrigan answered. "I never knew about this place."

She chuckled.

"I guess he found other ways to keep himself amused."

"Sure looks that way," I replied. "Did he have VIPs come here to enjoy the shows, you think?"

Morrigan looked upward toward the box seats that seemed to take up most of the walls on both sides.

"I'm not sure. As far as I know, anyone who entered this castle most likely became a vampire or has died. No human has ever left this place."

I flinched at her words. If that was true then I most likely wouldn't be able to rescue Jun.

Time was running out. I turned towards Morrigan.

"This place is huge," I said.

"Are you suggesting that we split up?" she asked.

I nodded.

"There doesn't seem to be any vampires or monsters around and we'll be able to cover more ground that way to reduce some time. Let's meet back here in ten minutes."

Morrigan eyed me for a moment as though she were contemplating my plan. Then she nodded.

"Okay."

I stood and watched as Morrigan turned away from me and headed towards the right side backstage. I didn't miss the uneasiness in her eyes. I didn't exactly feel confident in this plan either, but what choice did we have?

I sighed as I turned and headed for the left side backstage.

* * *

I didn't explore anywhere backstage, but instead pushed open a thick wooden door and stepped into a narrow hallway. The corridor wasn't very long as there were two doors on each wall, four doors in all. I had guessed that this was the dressing room area.

I grimaced upon not seeing anything that even resembled an exit.

_Looks like I have to be thorough._

I went over to the first door on my left, pushed it open and peered inside. As I had thought, it was a small dressing room with a mirror sitting on top of a dresser against the wall in the center of the room. There were also clothes hanging from a metal rack on the other side of the room.

_But no way out._

From what I could tell, this room hadn't been used for some time. Everything seemed to have a thick layer of dust coating it. Fortunately, the room was so small that I didn't need to investigate any further.

If only I was so lucky with the room across.

The next room was less delicate than the last. Unlike the dressing room, it was bigger and more cluttered with boxes and there were multiple long clothes racks as well with dozens of costumes hanging from them. The carpet on the floor was absent and all that was left was cold hard concrete. The walls were made out of blue bricks. Like the dressing room, this room too seemed like it has been neglected for some time.

This was more of a storage room.

I went inside looking for an exit. However curiosity got the better of me.

I found myself going inside, looking around at all the items with intrigue. I stopped as I noticed one crate had no lid on it, leaving its contents exposed. I realized that it was full of stage props after peering inside. I lifted a wooden sword from the crate and examined it.

It looked like one of those swords that kids played with.

_But it wouldn't make a very good bludgeon weapon._

I chuckled at the thought and dropped the sword back into the wooden box.

To my left were numerous costumes hanging from long clothes racks that stretched from one side of the room to the other. There was a lot of diversity of all the costumes ranging from the most exotic to the most conservative. Upon closer examination however, the costumes were better called rags since time had robbed them of their former glory. I turned away and noticed a door on the other side. I had thought maybe there'd be an exit through there.

Well, I wasn't wrong.

I pushed open the door as I stepped through and found myself back in the hallway where I had started from.

_Looks like there's no way out back here, _I mused, scratching my head.

As it turned out, this area was a bit smaller than I thought. I hadn't expected to be finished investigating this area so soon. I had hoped that I'd found a way out of here already.

_I hope Morrigan's having better luck than I am._

Now that I was thinking about it, if the area Morrigan was checking out as big as this area, I figured I go to wait back on the stage for her. She was probably finishing up soon.

With my plan in mind I turned to head back to the stage—

-and saw something pass through it, closing the door behind them.

_What the…?_

My thoughts were lost and my feet instinctively ran towards the door. My hand instantly grabbed the doorknob and turned it. To my relief, the door was unlocked so I pushed it opened. My thoughts went back to what I saw leaving through this door. It was only a glimpse of long blonde hair and the edge of a white cloth. My guess was a woman.

I wandered back onto the stage, but was not prepared for what I saw.

A thick fog had completely covered the floor of the theatre.

I scratched my head, wondering what to make of this. I certainly didn't like the ominous vibe I was getting from this sudden change of scenery. However, I really didn't like it when I noticed that the way we came in had completely vanished.

_Shit._

There was certainly no other option other than to keep searching for that other exit now. The last thing we needed was either vampires or anything else that roamed this castle to find us here. Separate, we didn't stand a chance with Morrigan's current state.

"…Daisuke?"

I turned around to see the said succubus approaching me. She stood next to me and looked around, noting the fog that was now around us. She then seemed alarmed.

"We need to get out of here," she said with a low voice.

I looked away from her.

"How?" I asked, looking around.

"Daisuke…?"

Alarmed, I turned around only to find that Morrigan had disappeared.

"What the-?"

"Daisuke!"

"Morrigan!"

I reach into the fog where Morrigan was just standing, but only grabbed a handful of air.

"Morrigan?"

No answer.

"Morrigan!"

Still no answer.

_Crap._

I then started in the direction where I last heard Morrigan. When I suddenly heard her voice again, I started to run. Initially, it didn't occur to me that her voice sounded different. The only thing that was on my mind was that I had to get to her quickly.

However, I wasn't expecting to suddenly exit the fog.

I came to a sudden halt with the help of a guard rail that I ran into. If I hadn't, I would have gone barreling over the railing and down a ten foot drop onto the numerous seats below.

_Wait a second…_

I looked around in mild confusion. With the fog gone, I realized that I was in the balcony area. How the heck did I get up here?

What happened to Morrigan?

I got a pretty good view of the theatre from the balcony so I looked around, seeing if I could spot her.

"_Are you here for the show?"_

I flinched at the sudden sound of the voice and whirled around.

I found no one there.

Normally when something like this happens, I would have a cynically remark about it. However, considering where I currently was and what I've been through, I was a little edgy so one didn't come to mind.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen."

I turned around again. This time, I peered over the balcony and turned my attention towards the stage. There was a man standing on the center of the stage. He wore a tall white hat with a matching mask that had a devious look on it. He was dressed in a blue suit with a white cape hanging from his shoulders. He reminded me of a magician.

"What you are about to witness…"

He paused. Whether it was for dramatic effect or what, I wasn't sure. He looked directly up at me.

"…..is the show of a lifetime."

Suddenly, the theatre roared to life with applause echoing from everywhere. I rapidly looked around and began seeing people forming in the seats.

_What the hell is happening?_


	32. Desolate Theatre: Chapter 2

**Well, from all the votes I received, it looks like I'll be adding the next 2 saga onto this fic. Thanks to all those who voted.**

**After the end of this story arc, there's 7 more characters that I plan on introducing to this fic. Only 3 of them are original characters. As for one more thing for you all to look forward to, this story saga is reaching its climax...finally (T_T). Now to keep myself from revealing spoilers, on with the fic.**

* * *

**32**

* * *

Well, I'm not quite sure how this happened so let's review.

I entered the castle of Demitri Maximof, an acquaintance of my succubus companion, Morrigan Aensland.

That alone should have made me put more thought into this.

So far, I've fought hordes of vampire rejects, better known as zombies, and a psychotic vampire gardener who could control a greenhouse of killer plants. I've befriended and later fought (or defended against) a vampire who could control paper, some gargoyle statues and more vampires. By now, it's safe to say that I'm pretty sick of vampires and all the other phenomenal creatures. I would think that I'd be used to this by now.

_Not a chance in hell._

This was a bit different. I was standing in the aisle in the balcony of an auditorium that was apparently abandoned, now full of applauding spectators anticipating a show of a lifetime. I thought back to a time when Riku was talking about a similar scenario.

"Sir…?"

I flinched at the whisper that suddenly came from behind me and whirled around to face it. My eyes widened in shock at what I saw.

_An usher?_

It was an usher. A plain and ordinary usher standing there staring at me, confused and somewhat surprised at my reaction. It was obvious that I was more surprised to see him than he was to see me.

"Uh, is everything alright sir?" he asked.

I stared at him a little more before answering.

"Yeah…Yeah, I'm fine."

I assumed that he wanted me to 'return to my seat'. Quickly glancing around headed over and sat down in one of the empty chairs. I thought that I may as well watch this 'show of a lifetime' I had heard about while I figured out what to do next.

Suddenly, the theatre was filled with music from the orchestra that also appeared in front of the stage. I soon watched with mild intrigue as three people entered the stage. There were two men wearing tailed tux coats and red vests and ties over tights. There was a woman wearing a grand dame's dress, though it was modified for mobility. It wasn't long before I realized what was happening.

_Ballet?_

Not that I've got anything against ballet; I just wasn't expecting it when the guy said the show of a lifetime. I soon found myself relaxing as I watched them dance. It seemed so…so…mesmerizing.

"_Daisuke…"_

I jerked in my seat. I looked around frantically searching for the source of the whisper. To my dismay, this action earned me some unwanted attention. I didn't realize it at first, but some of the surrounding spectators were looking at me. I felt a tap on my shoulder and my attention snapped to where it was coming from.

It was another usher.

"Um…sir?"

I stared at him in mild confusion, but my mind wasn't focused around him. He wasn't the source of my bewilderment. I was trying to figure out where that whisper had come from. It sounded so close, so clear. I looked back toward the stage and ran a hand through my hair. Given how my night's been so far, I was a bit jumpy.

"Excuse me," I said getting up and moving past the usher.

I could feel him watching me as I left the auditorium.

I strolled casually down the hallway with no particular destination in mind. Strangely enough, I felt like I was forgetting something important. I felt a sense of urgency tugging at the back of my mind. I didn't see what the hurry was at the time. I just needed to walk around here and clear my head so I could enjoy the show more properly.

"Can I help you with anything sir?"

I jumped as I soon noticed the usher in front of me. Where did he come from?

"No, I'm okay," I quickly replied and walked around him.

Just like the previous usher from before, I could feel him watching me. I looked back and saw him still standing there watching me. I couldn't help but notice that his gaze was unusually intense.

_Did I do something wrong? _I wondered.

It was around this point that I realized that I was wandering around without a destination in mind. It was probably for the best since I was trying to clear my head. However, my mind began wandering instead.

Since I was now thinking about it, I was feeling very torn for some reason.

On the one hand, I really wanted to watch this 'show of a lifetime' that was going on, but on the other hand, I felt that there was something else that I needed to be doing; something important.

_Why can't I remember?_

"Sir!"

I turned around to see that usher again. This time, there were a few other ushers with him.

"Please return to the auditorium."

I stared at them for a moment. It was plain and clear what their intention was.

Without a word, I turned around. I sighed then broke into a sprint in the other direction.

I knew they were chasing after me so I didn't look back.

It was strange considering 'normal' ushers would have thrown me out.

_Remember…_

"Eh?"

I was caught so off guard by the sudden whisper in my ear that I almost didn't notice the barricade of ushers in front me. I stopped before I ran into them.

With the other ushers closing in behind me, I intended to fight.

However, that didn't happen.

I was suddenly blindsided and tackled onto the floor. Being up against a gang of ushers, I didn't really stand a chance.

Before I knew it, I was thrown into the theatre, landing face first in the aisle.

Sure it wasn't the best customer service that I experienced, but I've had worse. I thought it was weird that they threw me back into the theatre rather than out. I stood up and dusted myself off before noticing that the theatre was completely black.

* * *

_What happened to the show?_

I was pretty certain that this was the same theatre I left earlier and it wasn't too long ago. If the show had ended, then shouldn't people who were viewing the show be flooding out into the hall right now?

_Daisuke…remember…_

I froze.

Whose voice was that? Where was it coming from and what did it wanted me to remember? The voice was soft and feminine and I recognized it.

However, I couldn't remember the name.

I couldn't even recall her face.

"What the hell is going on?"

"…Daisuke…"

My attention snapped to the front.

On the stage was that masked magician host again.

"How the hell do you know my name?" I yelled to him.

He didn't answer my question.

"It's unfortunate that you missed the majority of the show," he said. "However, you are in time for the finale."

He held out his hand and made a motion to rise. Just then, the spectators who were thought to be absent arose from their seats in unison. Acting as one, they all turned towards me.

I was startled to see all of their eyes glowing white with dark rings around them; a stark contrast from the human like appearance they held earlier.

They all began advancing towards me from all directions. I promptly turned around and bolted for the door which was now closed. I tried turning the knobs, but they wouldn't turn. I tried pushing and pulling the doors and ramming the doors but they wouldn't budge.

"Tch, typical…" I grumbled.

I then realized that I had wasted precious seconds trying this door and whirled around to see that the audience had completely surrounded me.

I was trapped.

I began making plans to escape as the mob drew closer. It looked like I was going to have to fight my way out. The man closest to me was on my left. The moment he grabbed my arm was when I responded with me yanking my arm from his grip and delivered a fierce left hook—

-only to have my fist pass right through him.

I pulled away after making a horrific realization.

They could touch me, I couldn't touch them.

Just then, I felt my arm being restrained by men and women on my right and then on my left. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get free.

"No!"

All of the remaining men and women of the audience in front of me reached out towards me.

"NO!"

I felt all of their hands on me and then nothing.

The world, their hands, the feeling of them grabbing me all disappeared.

I only saw blackness.

I felt my strength draining and I found myself caring less.

_So this is what feeling my life ending be like._

"…_Daisuke…"_

It was that voice again. By this point I was feeling a little annoyed with it. Didn't it know that it didn't matter anymore?

"_It's not too late…."_

Apparently, it didn't.

What did it mean that it wasn't too late? I felt powerless. I couldn't do anything.

"_All you have to do…is remember…"_

_Remember what?_

"…_.everything…."_

…_._

That was very cryptic. What did she mean to remember everything? All I remember was watching the play before hearing her voice and everything going ape shit.

_Wait…_

Why was I there in the first place? I knew that there was another reason other than catching some play. I was there for a reason, for a person.

I was there to save someone.

I felt myself standing and placed my hand onto my forehead as I began to think very hard.

I began to remember that I was in a castle looking for someone.

"…_Remember…"_

I remember fighting various monsters; vampires all the way up onto this point. I wasn't alone.

"…_Remember…"_

"I'm trying," I grumbled.

I remembered that I was trying to rescue one of my closest friends, Jun.

However, she wasn't the one who was whispering to me right now.

I soon began having visions of someone. It started out as a silhouette, but then took the shape of a girl. She wore a long-sleeved shirt with a matching skirt and pair of long boots. There was a decorative belt around her waist and a cross outlined in pink, embroidered in the center of her dress.

Her long green hair was unmistakable.

"_Daisuke…my name…remember my name…."_

The moment I saw her face was when it all finally came together.

…_Morrigan…_

Suddenly, the darkness shattered as if it was made of glass and I was back in the auditorium again. The mob was no longer present and was replaced by glowing white orbs floating all throughout the theatre.

Morrigan stood in front of me now. She raised her hand and all the glowing white orbs came swarming to her. The orbs soon became streams of light, flowing into her hand.

Before I knew it, she had taken her normal form complete with the wings.

She had gotten her power back.

"_You…!"_

Morrigan said nothing in response. She only smirked at the man.

She raised her hand and pointed at him as if she was pointing a gun at him. Suddenly, bats swarmed around her arm as if feasting on it, but I knew better.

Suddenly, the bats dissolved and solidified, forming some kind of long barrel gun.

"Bang," she said and a bolt of light shot from the weapon.

The moment it struck the man, he dissolved into a blinding light which soon filled the room. I closed my eyes as we were engulfed in the light

* * *

"Daisuke…Daisuke…"

I opened my eyes to find a pair of green eyes staring into mine. It wasn't long before I realized that my head was in Morrigan's lap.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," I sighed. "What happened?"

"You were attacked by a dream eater spirit," Morrigan explained. "You fell unconscious and were dragged into his world."

"I see."

That explained the weirdness of it all; the spectators, the ushers, my memory. I was glad that it was over.

"I'm glad you had no trouble dealing with him."

Morrigan smirked.

"He was pretty weak," she said. "Probably due to all of the resistance you were putting up."

It didn't change the fact that it was the most anticlimactic fight that we ever had since coming here.

I sat up and looked at her.

"Now how 'bout you," I said. "Are you okay from using that attack?"

Morrigan smiled.

"Yes. I was able to regain some of my powers from that. Even so, it would probably be safer if I didn't fly."

It was then that I was reminded of the barrier. Right now, this barrier was limiting Morrigan's powers and if she used them recklessly, it would drain her and she'd possibly die….or well, that was my conclusion anyway. I didn't really know if that was the case, but it looked like that she wanted to be frugal with her powers for the time being.

I stood up slowly to avoid feeling any vertigo.

"We need to get moving," I said. "Jun might not have that much time left."

* * *

Finding a way out of the theatre was much easier the second time around.

We also hadn't encountered any vampires or zombies either. Still, I kept my guard up.

It wasn't long before we found ourselves in another gallery.

It was quiet and devoid of any other life so we could hear our footsteps tapping the grey marble floor.

There were various sets of medieval armor standing against the wall with each of them holding a different two-handed weapon. I guessed he really liked collecting armor.

I then resumed looking forward and that's when I saw it.

I stopped.

"Daisuke?"

Morrigan looked at me curiously. No doubt she was wondering why I stopped walking.

"What does that look like to you?" I asked, pointing ahead.

I pointed to a pair of familiar looking metal doors. There was a button panel on the wall to the doors' left.

Morrigan gave me an odd look before chuckling.

"It looks like an elevator," she said.

It was then and there that I felt relieved that I wasn't going crazy.

After a night of fighting vampires, zombies, killer plants, statues, and ghosts, we finally found a quicker way to climb the castle. We would save a lot of time in reaching the top.

And we'd be able to save Jun with time to spare.

Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.

My hopes would be dashed in that moment.

The elevator went ding, catching us both by surprise. The doors slid open and a lone figure walked out.

I grimaced. It was Morrigan who spoke.

"…William…"

The vampiric butler smirked as he began clapping.

"Bravo human, bravo," he sneered. "I expected Morrigan to make it this far, but not you."

"You bastard," I growled. "You lied to us."

William shrugged.

"I admit that," He replied. "Still though, you getting out of a room full of vampires without getting bitten even once is quite something."

I took it that meant he was impressed.

"However, I still cannot allow you to pass."

William snapped his fingers. I braced myself for whatever happened next.

Just then I heard a loud clang.

Suddenly, the floor disappeared from beneath my feet and I was in a free fall.

"Daisu—"was all that Morrigan could get out before the floor closed up above me.

It all happened so fast that screaming didn't even occur to me, not that it would help any.

These last few seconds would be my final moments.

Considering what I went through, it was a pretty crappy way to die.

* * *

**The beginning of the end. Welp, read and review and until next time.**


	33. From the Depths: Chapter 1

**33**

* * *

_Damn him._

Just when we were making progress, just when we were getting one step closer to rescuing Jun, he shows up. Things were getting somewhat better for us and then William shows up and hampers us again. He shows up at every inopportune moment to trap us and/or kill us.

This time though, it seems he succeeded.

He showed up in the gallery to say a few words to provoke me, but I can't solely blame him. I let my anger blind me.

I was surrounded by darkness, filled with nothing but regrets as I fall into oblivion.

I could only hope that Morrigan would succeed in rescuing Jun in my place.

_Dammit!_

I felt angry, not only at him, but at myself.

I survived many things this castle threw at me, many things that should have very well killed me.

But out of all the things that should have killed me, I fall for the most classic trap of them all. This truly was the lamest way to die.

Suddenly, something I don't expect happened.

Just when I thought the end would come, my descent slowed.

It didn't seem like I had been caught be someone or something flying, but I was slowly descending.

I soon landed softly, head first onto someone's lap. The rest of my body sets down on the ground.

_Who is this?_

I then realized that my eyes were closed; must've closed them when I accepted the fact that I was about to die. They felt strangely heavy and the strength to open them wasn't available to me.

"_Daisuke"_

I jerked at the whisper of my name. It was a woman.

"_Wake up Daisuke…"_

Was it Morrigan? No, the tone of her voice seemed very different. It didn't sound desperate, but rather calm and soothing. However, there was a sense of urgency behind it.

"_I know that you are tired, but for your sake you need to wake up!"_

I didn't know who the voice belonged to and so I mustered what little strength that I could and attempted to open my eyes. It was a struggle, but I finally force them open.

What I see isn't what I was expecting.

I was still surrounded by darkness, but was no longer plunging into it. Rather than that, I was more or less drifting in it. I soon come to realize that it isn't just blackness I'm in but as well as….

"_Water?!"_

I attempted to voice my thoughts, but only succeeded in make a low noises and letting a large amount of air bubbles escape from my mouth.

Turns out, I'm deep underwater.

I wasn't sure how far I sunk underwater, but I soon felt the need to breathe.

I swam desperately for the surface, but it didn't seem like I was getting any closer to the surface. Soon, I began feeling the pain of not breathing.

_Is this what drowning feels like? _I wondered.

Soon, my desperate swimming becomes desperate flailing.

It didn't seem like I was going to make it, but it didn't keep me from trying.

Finally broke the surface.

I gasped deeply, filling my longs with all the precious oxygen that I could.

Treading water, I looked around, trying to take in my surroundings. It was dark, but that meant nothing to my enhanced night vision.

It appeared that I was in some kind of sewer, but I soon realized that wasn't the case. I was breathing somewhat normally again and notice that the air wasn't foul like I had been expecting. It was more of an aqueduct more than a sewer so it was safe to assume that I wasn't treading in filth.

I spotted an elevated platform not far from me and began to swim towards it.

Suddenly, I feel something brush past my leg.

_What was that?!_

I ask mentally, but I didn't intend to stop swimming to find out. Investigating could wait until I got out of the water.

Or so I thought.

I was nearing the platform when a sharp pain rang throughout my leg. I was then suddenly snatched away from the platform and pulled underwater.

It didn't take long for me to identify my attacker.

It was big and I could see that its skin is rough. I look down to my leg to see my leg in its mouth and a beady red eye with a slit in the middle staring back at me.

_A shark?!_

And it's a pretty strange looking one too.

It flashes a grin and then pulls me down deeper.

In retaliation, I pull out the dagger and jam it into the assailant's side. Its eyes widen in surprise and it releases my leg and without missing a beat, I make a frantic swim for the surface.

Once I make it above water again, I swim for the elevated platform and I reach it pretty quick. However, I heard a loud splash to the left of me and when I look, I saw a large object flying towards me. My eyes widened in horror.

It's the large shark again, flying towards me with its mouth open wide.

_Not like this…_

Time appeared to slow as the shark descended. I recalled how my latent powers saved me when I was in a bind in the past and I was kind of hoping for the same miracle.

But suddenly, something happens.

The shark veered off target and crashes into the water next to me.

Sure it wasn't the kind of miracle I was hoping for, but I was counting my blessings. I used this chance to pull myself onto the platform and sit with my back against the wall, to catch my breath.

As I began to relax, the pain in my leg that the shark bit throbs for the first time.

There were holes in my pant leg from where I was bit, but amazingly it's mostly still intact. I rose my pant leg to check the damage. Besides the blood on my leg, but the bite marks are closing up.

I was aware of my fast healing around the time after I had my run-in with Bulleta, but this was the first time I was seeing it in action. I also remembered the words that Lilith said to me around that time. I didn't give it much thought then, but after seeing this….

_If….when my powers fully awaken, will I still be me?_

I became afraid of myself for the first time.

Other than the healing and the night vision, I didn't know the full extent of my powers. When they finally kick in, would they come complete with a personality change? Would I have change of diet?

I began to feel terrified.

_Would I start feeding on…people?_

Last I checked, people I cared about fell on that list.

I realized that I was agonizing over it and shake the thoughts from my mind. I had to focus on the current situation.

Suddenly, I heard splashing a few feet from me from further down by the platform and scrambled to my feet readying myself as _something_ pulls itself out of the water and onto the platform.

As it stood up, I was able to see that it had a humanoid figure. Its green skin reminded me of a frog, but the thought of it being a giant frog were immediately dispelled when I notice the fins on both of its arms as well as the large golden fin tracing from its head and down its back.

I grimaced as it soon noticed me.

_Okay, first sharks, now Swamp Thing?_

I reach for the dagger when it started towards me only to learn that it was missing from its small sheath.

_Crap._

It was probably still embedded in that shark's body. It looked like I'm going to have to fight this thing by hand.

Or so I thought.

Something slid towards me and I stop it with my right foot. My eyes widened in surprise.

It's the dagger that I lost earlier.

"That's yours is it not?"

Initially, I'm surprised that the creature just spoke to me, but I quickly shake it off.

These kinds of things just don't surprise me like they use to.

I look up at 'Swamp Thing' warily as I knelt down and picked up the dagger.

To my surprise, the creature raised its arms in defense.

"Wait, I'm not going to hurt you," it says.

_Good._

That meant I wouldn't regret what I was about to do.

I sprinted towards the creature.

I apparently caught it off guard as it entered a defensive stance, but it was too late. I'm close enough to see the whites of its eyes as they widened in surprise.

I speared the creature with a hard tackle—

-as the large shark jumps out of the water and slams into the wall at where we were just standing.

I looked back in time to see the shark glare at me, before throwing itself back into the water and disappearing.

"That was close," I heard the creature say.

"Heh, no kidding."

The creature stands up and extended a hand towards me.

"I guess this makes us even now."

I eyed the creature quizzically as I took its hand.

"Even…?"

As he pulled me to my feet, a replay of what happened earlier suddenly plays in my mind.

When that shark missed me, I recalled seeing a shadow bouncing off of the shark earlier. At the time I thought I imagined it and gave it no extra thought, but now I realize that I was saved by this thing.

"I guess this does makes us even."

The creature smiles.

"Well now, if you don't mind, I kind of wish to leave here before that strange shark attacks again."

I nod in agreement. The water was pretty murky standing over it and I only saw the shark that time by chance. I didn't want to push our luck.

* * *

We found our way out of the sewer much quicker than I thought we would. The creature found a door which led us into a large dark and dank cavern. I suddenly remember what it had said.

"Hey," I said while catching my breath. "You thought that shark looked weird too?"

"Yes. I have never seen a shark like that before. I wonder what sorcery caused it to be that way."

I stared.

"You've never seen it before?"

The creature smiled.

"No. I've been all over the world and I haven't come across a shark that looks like that."

"Is that so?"

I sighed as I scratched the back of my head.

"And I assumed that you lived here."

Or more specifically, I thought that he was one of Demitri's pets, but of course I wasn't going to tell him that.

The creature shook its head.

"I've only arrived here recently."

"Same here."

So we were in the same boat, but what he said next floored me.

"But, where is 'here' exactly?"

I looked at him as though he had grown an extra head (though I might not be as surprised if he actually did).

"Y-You mean you don't know?"

"I thought that's what my question implied."

It apparently also had a sense of humor.

"You're in Castle Zeltzer—something."

Now I just felt embarrassed. I couldn't remember what the castle was named. Morrigan had only told me once and after all that happened so far, it wasn't surprising that I had forgotten.

The creature however seemed to know what I was talking about.

"You mean Castle Zeltzereich?!" he sounded surprised.

"I think so."

The look on the creature's face turned grim.

"So that vampire is still alive."

He then looked at me with scrutiny.

"You're human right?"

The question had caught me off guard.

"Uh, y-yeah….?"

_For now at least, _I mused, once again reminded of my circumstance.

The creature then seemed confused.

"Why are you wandering around in such a dangerous place?"

"Because I'm here to get my friend out of this dangerous place," I retorted.

He seemed taken aback by my response. I cast my eyes downward.

"And we had gotten pretty close too, before I fell into this trap."

"…I see. And what about your other friends?"

Immediately, my thoughts shifted toward Morrigan and Rose. Morrigan wasn't exactly at her best and Rose was the one on the inside helping me out, though I was certain that William knew about it.

Both of them were putting themselves in danger to help me out.

But I didn't feel too worried about them.

"I'm pretty sure they're okay."

But now I was curious. 'Swamp Thing' made it pretty clear that he didn't live here.

"Mind if I ask you what brings you here?"

The creature looked thoughtfully at me for a moment before answering.

"Well, I didn't come _here _intentionally like you did."

This part I could already guess since he didn't even know that he was in Demitri's castle, but I stayed silent waiting for him to continue.

"I was originally supposed to meet with someone in the forest outside."

I eyed him questioningly.

"A friend?"

"Not exactly," he responded, shaking his head. "I believe she said she was from the Ambrosia Research Committee. I was in the river by where we were supposed to meet and…well…I ended up here."

I stared at him quizzically and suspiciously. I didn't quite like how he worded that. Regardless of how questionable it might have sounded, it didn't seem like he was going to explain himself.

He didn't have to. That was his business.

What was really bothering me was what he said about the woman.

_Ambrosia Research Committee…._

Something about that name seemed to not sit well with me. Actually, I was getting some pretty bad vibes from it and the more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable it made me.

Then, it clicked.

"ARC?!" I yelled. "You were MEETING with someone from ARC?!"

"I-I take it you've heard of them?"

"Hell yeah! I almost died because of them!"

I then proceeded to tell him about my encounters with two of their members that happened a few months ago. I then told him pretty much everything Talbain told me about them.

After hearing me talk, the creature eyed me thoughtfully.

"It sounds like the Research Committee are a dangerous bunch. Now I wonder if it was that woman's intent that I ended up here."

I nodded in agreement. ARC was a force that moved in the dark and there was no way to know exactly what they were planning. The only thing we were able to do was react and adapt.

"By the way…"

The creature pulled me out of my thoughts.

"You said you were here to rescue your friend, did you not?"

"Yeah….?"

"How do you know that your friend is still alive?"

I grimaced.

He had asked the question that I had been too afraid of to consider. I had been clinging on to the hope that Jun was still alive. I didn't even want to think that these vampires had been merely toying with me and Jun was vampire food long before I even entered the castle.

That doppelganger I met in the ballroom might've even been the actual Jun turned into a vampire and me murdering her being a cruel joke.

"They tried to hide her from me when I first got here," I said. "Later I learned that she was sent to Demitri's quarters at the top of the castle and that he would wake at midnight to feed."

The creature didn't seem sold.

"Where did you get that information from?"

"I have an ally on the inside. She's a vampire, but she's able to resist Demitri's will as unbelievable as it sounds. She's been guiding us through the castle and she's even saved my life so I decided to trust her."

"And why midnight?"

I looked downward for a moment. I also that it was weird that Demitri, a vampire, would awaken as soon as it was dark. However, after learning that he had apparently survived being killed I had a theory.

"Demitri's still recovering," I said.

This seemed to take the creature by surprise, but he remained silent. I continued.

"He's still trying to recover his strength. It makes sense seeing how hard William's been trying to keep me from getting there."

"That is certainly a definite possibility," the creature said, appearing to be in thought.

It was purely speculation and there was the likelihood of me being wrong.

But it was all I got.

It was the only thing that kept me going, the only reason that I even made it this far.

I could only hope.

"Human…."

I shifted my gaze up towards the creature. He apparently had finished his thinking.

He now looked at me resolutely.

"…I've decided."

I eyed him quizzically.

"I will accompany you. I will help you rescue your friend."

I stared at the creature in disbelief.

"W-Wha?"

The creature grinned.

"Do you land-lovers have dirt in your ears? I said I will help you."

I was at a loss for words. A fish-man just told me that he was going to help me rescue my friend.

"But why? You don't—"

"I'm not exactly sure why….."

Now I was just confused.

"My instinct tells me that you are a good person. I find you very trustworthy."

Well it was pretty clear that my confusion wasn't going to clear up anytime soon, but I smiled nonetheless.

I guess I should be glad that I look like a guy who could be trusted….despite my oddly white hair.

"Hey, what should I call you?"

Surely this creature that just said it would help me had a name. The creature merely smiled.

"Call me Rikuo."

"I'm Daisuke."

Rikuo.

Not a name I had expected to call some creature from the black lagoon (another horror movie courtesy of Riku.), but I was grateful to have allies, no matter where they came from.

Besides, calling him 'Swamp Thing' was getting old.

"So _Rikuo…_how long have you been here?"

Earlier, I couldn't help but notice how he seemed familiar with the aqueduct. He also found this cave kind of easily.

"Long enough to explore most of this cave," he answered, confirming my speculations.

He looked down a pathway that led deeper into the cave.

"It was a couple hours before I made my way into the aqueduct and found you Daisuke."

"A couple hours huh?"

For a moment, I gave it no extra thought. However it dawned on me very soon enough.

Jun didn't have a couple of hours.

She maybe had 15 minutes, maybe even less than that.

I was probably wearing my musings on my face because it wasn't long before Rikuo noticed my distress.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Is there any part of the cave that you didn't explore yet?"

I didn't ask if he had found a way up into the castle because he probably would have already been up in the castle if he had.

"Um yes…?" he answered quizzically.

"Then let's go!"

"Huh? Hey wait!"

I took off running down the pathway deeper into the cave, ignoring Rikuo's verbal attempts at stopping me.

If this wasn't the most reckless thing I've ever done then I didn't know what was.

* * *

_Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all._

I had come to this realization as I slowed to a stop and found myself in the middle of a thick fog. I wondered where it came from. It had literally appeared out of nowhere.

It didn't feel natural.

If that was the case then what was causing it? _Who_ was causing it? I was both looking forward and dreading the answer at the same time.

Just then, Rikuo finally caught up with me. As soon as he spotted me he stopped and leaned over to catch his breath.

"How…do you land-lovers…do it?" he asked in between breaths.

I then realize that Rikuo was a marine creature. Sure he could walk around on land, but he needed water. And I had forgotten that.

I turn around and look at him apologetically.

"Sorry about that. Are you okay?"

"I'll live."

I can't help but to smile at his response and resume trying to make out anything else in this fog. Hopefully, I'd find whatever's causing it…

…before whatever was causing it found us.

"Well now, what have we here?"

I grimaced.

_Too late._

The voice belonged to a woman and it seemed to come from everywhere. Clearly, this had vampire written all over it. She soon answers her own question.

"…A white-haired human and a fish-man."

Rikuo griped in response.

"Heh. I'm a merman."

"Apologies. I'm not able to tell the difference."

"Well if this fog wasn't in the way you'd probably tell the difference!"

Around this time, I decided to try and provoke the vampire in dissipating the fog….okay provoking vampires might not seem to be one of my best ideas, but I like to see whatever may be trying to kill me.

I'm funny like that.

My remark was responded to with a laugh.

"Very well."

Suddenly, the fog began to recede and dissipate. I was soon able to see my surroundings again.

However, the first thing I see is a large body of water in front of me. Further than that, I see a woman sitting on what appears to be a throne planted on the bank across the lake.

The woman wore a bright white china dress, adorned with a maroon colored coat with black fur cuffs and collar over it.

She chuckled at she stared at us with her blood red eyes.

"Welcome, to my domain."


End file.
